Purple Rose BOOK 1 OF 3 (PG18)
by Judice
Summary: Purple Rose – Introduces Brianna is a smart young woman who grew up in a rough neighbourhood and was raised by her widowed mother and living biological brother, Tye. Aside from having to live in West Garfield, Chicago, she is driven and determined to make a better life for herself and her family. Throughout out the years of her adolescent life, she falls in love with Jason,


J.I.M Newton/ Purple Rose/Purple Highlights/ Purple BlissSeries/ 532

 **Purple Rose**

 **Novel by**

 **J.I.M Newton**

 **Chapter One**

" **C** ome on Bri, we goin' to be late!" Tye called out to his sister upstairs, to try and get her to hurry a little more, since it was the morning of her 12th grade, graduation ceremony and she was running late.

Brianna was searching for her teardrop silver earrings that fell on the floor whilst she tried to put them on.

For weeks on end, Brianna had planned to wear just a pair of plain black denims with a plain purple flowing floral blouse for graduation, something that she'd typically would've worn when she went out to hang around at the shopping mall whilst spending some time with her best friend Chloe.

Brianna Violet Rose Johnson was born into, a below average middle income class family, which just about manages to pay bills on time and kept up with basic expense.

And for that specific reason alome, she choose not to bother her mother, Paige or her brother Tye about money when it came to buying a new outfit, which would be plainly for graduation purposes and would only be worn for a few hours.

Unware and unprepared, the night before her graduation, when Brianna received an unexpected, surprised from her mother, a graduation gift. The gift was a newly bought A-Line, enchanting strapless curve magenta purple dress with a satin bow sash that came with a knee length skirt.

In addition to the dress, she also received a pair of silver low strappy heels, a pair of silver custom jewellery teardrop earrings which came with a matching necklace.

Brianna appreciated the dress and she felt quite touched by her mother's considerate gesture, purely based on the fact that she knew deep inside, about the long working hours her mother put in during the week at an old age home employed as an assistance nurse.

On the other hand, her bother Tye, worked too, for a courier company making deliveries all day, which didn't pay much, but helped out with some of the household bills.

Although she always wanted to find a job while in school to try and help out with expenses around the house, Brianna remain unemployed, due to her mother and brother always insisted that she remained focused in her studies before she considered getting a job, because they believed that finding a job would be easy with a completed high school Diploma.

Brianna lived in a house on the Westside of Chicago, in West Garfield Park overseeing East Garfield Park.

She lived with both her biological mother Paige and brother Tye, who was 3 years older than her.

Growing up, Tye got to know their father, just as a toddler, but Brianna never really got to meet him since he was shot and killed by a gang robbers in the neighbourhood liquor store where he worked as cashier, during one of his late night shifts.

At the time of his passing Paige was still expecting and living in her mother-in-law's house when she heard the news about her husband's passing. Scared and afraid of what would become of her and her two children and left with nothing, she didn't know where to start, especially since she was still study towards her nursing degree.

Luckily for Paige, her mother-in-law had morals and stepped in when she was mostly need. Together they helped each other overcome the grieve of their loved one and began to rebuild their lifes around what was best for the children.

Paige's mother-in-law took the responsibility to raise her two grand children while she went out to find work.

Paige started working two jobs towards her last weeks of giving and two months after Brianna was born, in order to look after her kids and the household she now lived in.

Every night she would come home exhausted, when the children were asleep, and she'd go to each one's bedside to give them a kiss goodnigh, just so she would see them for that day.

Her children meant everything to her and always gave her the strength she needed to face each day.

Ten years passed and the children grew up and death too came along, when the children lost their grandmother to diabetes.

Before her passing, she left the paid house in Paige's name, so she could continue to look after her grandchildren and have a roof over their heads as a piece of security.

Over the years, West Garfield Park suburb changed a lot, from being a quite place to live to became well-known for drug wars, violence incidents, which began to occur on a weekly basis and suddenly everywhere became unsafe to rove.

But as long as one kept to themselves, stayed away from the drugs and crime, kept their eye open at all times, they would remain harmless.

When Tye became a teenage, however, he got involved with the wrong crowd and soon got himself involved with the drugs and violence on West side when he agreed to sell pot for a drug lord known as 'Uncle John'.

Tye got involved with the wrong crowd and formed part of a young group of boys that sold pot for 'Uncle John' as a form of getting extra income, to try to elevate his frustration towards not being able to afford and keep up with his materialistic wants.

'Uncle John' ruled on the West side and was known for being good at what he did, he had lots of clientele on his side which brought in a lot of cash money.

Uncle John was very laidback with his sellers, but he was also heartless to those who would disappoint him.

It didn't matter to him what age you were or what sort of situation you were in, if you'd upset him in any way, he'd always made sure you got taught a lesson, especially when it affected his business.

He kept an eye over every bit of detail and knew straight away when someone tried to bull shit him in anyway possible.

And, when he'd catch them, he dealt with them in many different ways depending on how he felt on that day and how bad someone offended him.

Selling pot was the only way that Tye sort out to get some money, since he was too young to work and the only reason he ever did that was because he wanted to keep up with everyone else his age.

At the tender age of twelve, is when he began selling pot up until he was fourteen years old. Right after, someone reported him, and he got caught selling drugs to some high school pupils at the school premises. Being a freshmen in junior high, he barely completed his first term, and was sent straight to juvenile prison for three years and only got out when her turned 16.

When he got back into to school he was closely monitored and had attend counselling sessions every week with the social counsellor. In just a few months after his release, he turned his life around and put his focus back into his studies after he and his Paige had a serious talk about the choices he had to consider for his future.

"Death or life. The choice is yours." she said to him.

Choosing to life, Tye made a promise to Paige and Briann that he would never get involved with drugs again.

He stuck to his word, until Uncle John heard about him getting out and decided to approach him one afternoon, at the school gates when the last bell rang.

He approached Tye, very casually, signalling out to him so he could come up to him, amongst other passing students exiting the school building who where making their way home.

Not wanting to cut corners, Uncle John went straight to the point and offered Tye a chance to return back to the game, tempting him with some cash in the process by placing a few $100 notes in his hands.

Tye thought hard about the promise he had made to his mother and sister, looked down at the cash placed in his hand, shook his head and turned down the offer.

When he did, Uncle John reminded him of the money he had lost when he got caught, "So, how you going to pay me back son?" he asked.

And Tye had no answer for him.

"Al'right." Uncle John said teed off. "Let's settle your debt, son." he said and ordered him to get into his car.

At that moment, Tye didn't know what was going to happen to him, but the one thing he knew for sure was that he'd never want to put his family through another three years or more of despondency if he ever went back to selling pot.

Uncle John drove him all the way to their base site with his massive bouncer, and when they got there, they forced Tye out the car and the bouncer strongly gripping his arms and hands behind him and made faced him towards Uncle John.

"I hate to have to do this to you son, but, a debt is a debt." Uncle John said, retrieving a hunting knife from his pocket.

In fear of being stabbed, Tye tried to release himself from the bouncer, failing miserably.

Grabbing a hold of his youthful face, Uncle John, lifted the hunting knife to the left side of his face and run the sharpen blade, lacerating the surface of his skin, from beneath his eyes right down to his jaw bone.

When he felt pleased with what her had done, he told the bouncer to release Tye and turned his back, to walk away. Let to fend for himself, Tye went to the nearest emergency medical centre to get his wound treated and later went home to his family and told them what had happened.

In a few months, Tye's wound healed but he was still left with a scar on his face. A scar he had to look and live with every single say for the rest of his life.

A scar, he told himself everyday , that he'd make better decision in the years ahead.

 **Chapter Two**

"I'll be right down!" Brianna yelled back to her brother downstairs once she found the missing earring laying on the floor. Once she secured the earring, she put on her strappy her heels, grabbed her graduation gown and cap, got her sling handbag and walked up to the mirror behind her closet door to have a view her completed look.

Content with overall look, from head to toe, she smiled at herself looking at the mirror, feeling jovial then turned around and headed downstairs to make her way to the graduation ceremony that morning.

Brianna, as well as Tye, were both biracial and came from an interracial relationship, where their father was African American and Paige was Caucasian.

Brianna's body shape was toned and slightly curvy built and stood at 5'5 without shoes.

She had deep set brown eyes, full pink natural lips and had a smooth feminine jawline combine with a smooth chin.

She had long and thick curly brown hair, which her best friend Chloe helped straighten for graduation the night before, that reached twenty inches in length.

For graduation, she decided to use minimal make-up, with some eyeliner, mascara and a nude colour lip gloss to go with the natural look, she was used to wearing.

'Bri', as the people closest to her called her, was a simple and timid girl who loved the colour purple, which is why her mother decided that purple would be a great colour for her to wear during her graduation ceremony.

She loved the colour so much, that even her bedroom wall was painted in medium purple.

Her bedroom, was plain but always kept neat, plainly furnished with a white double sized iron frame bed which has two white wooden pedestals on each side.

Included was a small wooden white study table with a mirror, which she also used as a dressing table, but the main function of the table over the past few years had mostly been for her research and assignments for school.

Brianna was an above average student who did well at school.

She planned on working after school, to save some money and hopefully study towards a Degree in Accounting or Finance, since she didn't manage to grasp a bursary or scholarship.

She enjoyed accounting classes in high school since day one, and planned on persuading a career in that field.

She also enjoyed a bit of economics and did well in most of the other _'boring subjects.'_ , as her best friend, Chloe, used to put it.

Brianna had plans set for her future, which she hoped to achieve someday, but she knew that it would require some funds and hard work to achieve it.

When she reached the bottom stairs, after exiting her bedroom, she encountered Tye, who was already holding the front door open, set to go.

"So, how do I look?" Brianna asked Tye's opinion giving him a 360˚ swirl in the middle of the small entrance hall.

"All grown up and ready to take on the world." Tye said in a good-humored tone.

"Thanks Tye." she said giving him half a smile.

"Hey, I'm proud of you — okay, I'm proud to see that you've turned out different from all those other girls from this neighborhood. You've made it, you haven't dropped out of school or got involved with the wrong people. You've stuck through school, even with me having to have put you and mama through the worse, you remained focused, that's why you've come this far and still going places right?" Tye said acknowledging Brianna as she nodded her head in agreement.

She gave him a big smile and they gave each other a quick hug.

"Come on let's go, Chloe and Jason are waiting for us." Tye said when they moved away from their sibling embrace.

"Sweet words, but if we going, where's mama?" Brianna asked him.

"Jason's dad has already taken mama with him to the school to find us some seats. Let's go." Tye held the front door open and showed her the way out.

When Brianna stepped out of the house and into the front porch, it was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, in June.

The neighborhood was surprisingly quiet, considering the gun shots that where heard from a distance the night before.

' _Great day to graduate.',_ Brianna thought to herself.

Tye locked up the house whilst Brianna made her way to the car, parked outside on the road with Chloe and Jason inside.

Chloe and Brianna, had been best friend since childhood and she was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, using the sun shade mirror to finish adding on the last touches of blush on her cheeks, when she paused, turned to look to her side and saw Brianna walking towards the car.

Her mouth dropped at the sight of Bri's dress, which she knew nothing about.

Excited as she was, for weeks over their graduation, packed her blusher and brush back into her make-up bag, zipped it up and put in her handbag, then threw the bag onto the back seat of the car.

In a matter of seconds, she jumped out the front passenger seat to give big Brianna a full-sized hug.

"Wow Bri, you look amazing, I love the dress. When did you get it and why wasn't I told about it?" Chloe praised Brianna once she moved away and she got a chance to look and analyze, the dress closely.

"Thanks Chloe, you look amazing too. My mom gave me the dress as a graduation present last night. Can you believe it?" Brianna complimented Chloe too.

"Thank God she got you that dress, it's really pretty."

"Come on you two, let's go." Tye said to both the girls as he walked towards them from the front porch of the house in the direction of the car.

Tye opened the back door of the Black 1996 Chevy Impala SS Sudan and Brianna got in the back seat of the car first and seat behind Jason, who was driving them to the school that morning.

The car was owned by both Jason and Tye, since they had both decided to put in half the money each to purchase the car cash, after saving up for eighteen months.

Jason's dad found them a good deal at the car dealerships he worked in and to their knowledge, the car was once owed by an old lady who had passed on, and left the car for her crack son to use. Due to his dark habits, he sold the car close to nothing just so he could feed his habit.

Tye and Jason shared the car between themselves, on and off, every other weekend, when one or the other would go out on a date or perhaps meet up with other people besides each other.

Jason kept the car mostly during the week, because he always came past the house to pick up Tye for work in the mornings, but mainly because Jason, tended to be more punctual when it came to getting to work on time.

They both worked for the same courier company during the week making deliveries all day, and when they were off during the weekends they would go and play some street basketball against other teams in the neighborhood.

At times they would make some extra money when bets were involved, and with the extra bit of cash they earned, they'd spent in on the car, by tinting the glass windows, black, putting in a sound system and silver mags, making it look all suited up.

They two really took pride in caring for their _'baby'_ as they refered to it.

"Hi,Jason." Brianna greeted him politely as she entered the car and moved to position herself on the back seat behind him.

"Hey." Jason greeted Brianna with a smile as their eyes met on the rear-view mirror, and the two stared admiringly at each other for a moment, but were shortly interrupted when Chloe and Tye joined them.

"Hey man." Tye greeted Jason as he seat in the front passenger seat of the car, adjusting the chair and seatbelt.

"Hey. Are we all set to go now?" Jason asked quickly taking his light hazel brown eyes away from the rear-view.

"Yeah, let's do this." Tye said.

Jason turned on the ignition, bringing both the radio and the engine to life.

He looked up and checked all his mirrors before drive off, and when he checked the rear-view mirror once more, he caught Brianna's eyes on him again, but this time she shied away slightly blushing.

Jason smiled slightly towards Brianna's bashful reaction, without anyone taking notice, before he then put the car into drive and they all made their way to the graduation.

Jason had always had his eyes set on Brianna, ever since the first time he saw her when Tye invited him and his family to thanksgiving dinner, after they become friends.

A dinner that Paige kept on insisting Tye on, so she could meet the friend that seemed to have brought great additional influence into her son's life.

Back then Jason was seventeen years old, like Tye, and Brianna was fourteen, like Chloe.

Being best friends with Tye, Jason always found it difficult to approach Brianna and tell her how he felt about her, especially when Tye always spoke and confided in him on how much his sister meant to him and how he wanted her to achieve so much in her life.

Tye believed that no boy or man, was ever good enough for her and never forgot to always express the fact that the opposite sex, would only distract and pull his sister away from reaching her goals in life.

Jason, however always tried in a ways to test Tye on opening up when it came to Brianna, by passing little flirty comments and complements her over the years when they were together.

For ever flirtatious comment Jason would give, Tye's response would always be.

'Keep your eyes off her alright, you're not her type anyway.'Tye could say.

He would say that in a friendly sort of way that is, but, deep inside Jason knew to keep his true feelings towards Brianna a buried and kept away from him without even considering discussing it,ever.

Tye had always been overly protective over Brianna, ever since Jason can remember.

He loved his sister very much and never wanted to see her get hurt by nothing or anyone, mainly because of the guilt her felt for abandoning her and Paige when he was sent to juvenile, and that's why he wanted to make sure Brianna was always happy and satisfied with her life.

When Tye started working, he even began to support Brianna by giving her some pocket money every month just so she could go out and get herself some nice things to keep her away from having to depend on anyone other guy to buy her clothes, gifts and some materialistic items that every girl likes to get from time to time.

On the other hand, Jason and Chloe, were biological siblings too.

They also shared a three year sibling age gap between them and they had always been very close, ever since their mother left them when they were little.

Over the years, they had to come to terms with the news of her sudden tragic car accident which took her life.

Everything changed though, when Chloe met Brianna, and also when puberty came into play.

When that happened, Chloe distanced herself from Jason, just a little to share far more intimate conversations about girly teenage experiences with Brianna who was at the same stage in life as she, but Chloe soon enough she opened up again and began talking to her brother about everything, including stuff he didn't really fell like siblings should talk about it.

 **Chapter Three**

 _...A short tale on the Millers..._

Jason and Chloe once lived in the elite areas of the North side of Chicago, when his father Mike Millers had a really good job working as a Marketing Director in Chicago central, for several years.

Their father was the sole provider of the family, a good dad to both his children and a wonderful husband to their mom.

But like most good man, Mike had a downside, and his downside was his gambling addiction.

Whenever the chance arised, Mike would go gambling, even go as far as to take time off for himself and go out on a Sunday morning, to spend the rest of the day in a casino and only return home late at night.

If there was one event he'd never missed, it was the Chicago Derby, which took place every year and he'd always made sure to bid, large sums of money.

Money was never an issue because he earned well, until one day, when the company he worked for was forced to shut down due to stocks falling in the market.

At the time of crisis, Mike knew he had to do something to ensure he had enough funds to sustain him and his family for a couple of tough months ahead.

So, in the act of despair, he took the little money he had saved in the bank, plus his benefits and took a change in luck at the Chicago Derby.

In the absence of fortune, Mike lost all the money he placed on the final round.

One bad decision, combined with a gambling addiction, cost the Millers family everything, making them broke overnight.

The act took place on late Saturday afternoon at around 5pm, and when it was over, Mike returned to his home in North side of Chicago to face his family.

Once he arrived home, he felt and looked beat up, as he walked through the front door.

His eyes were blood shoot red and he smelt alcohol, due to him having a been drinking before heading home from the Derby.

On arrived, Jason and Chloe ran up to greet him just as they heard it shut, something they were accustomed to doing daily.

When Mike saw them, he became overwhelmed with emotions and hugged them, kneeling down to floor, grasping them closer to either side, and in doing to, he kept on apologizing to them with tears rolling down his eyes.

At one point, the children couldn't understand why he so apologetic, but felt sorry for him in a way and continued hugging him, trying their best to consolidate him without asking questions.

Moments past and Mike's wife, Catherine Millers, who was Jason and Chloe's biological mother, walked into the entrance hall from the kitchen where she had just finished making dinner, to greet her husband, like typical stay at home would when she heard the children ran out to greet their father.

When reached and she saw the scene that unfolded in the front her in the open entrance hall, she too couldn't understand why husband was crying, since everything over the past few days seemed to be well.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked, with a concerned look on her face.

Mike was still on his knees embracing his children when he heard his wife's voice.

In one move, he back away from his children's embrace and asked them to go to their rooms upstairs, so he could talk to their mother in private.

Jason was eleven years old at that time and Chloe who was eight. After having listened to their father,they raced each other upstairs to their bedroom where they decided to play video games in Jason's bedroom.

Mike got up from the floor and asked Catherina to follow him into the private study, to talk privately and she followed him.

Once in, the sliding doors were closed, Mike moved closer to Catherine and held her hand anxiously tight.

He looked at her to try and read the facial expression on her face and she looked uneasy.

Catherina and Mike were married for fifteen years, after they met at the University of Chicago and fell in love almost immediately.

They both worked once, but when Mike landed up with a good job, he decided that Catherine would be better of being a stay home mom.

Catherine didn't disagree with his decision at first, but eventually gave in, after Mike agreed and promised her that he'd keep his gambling habits under control.

During their first years of being marriage, Mike and Catherine both had jobs and they both decided to save money over two year to try and get into the housing market.

Mike's bonus and 13th pay cheque, was going to pay for the transfers fees of the house they planned on purchasing, but as it turned out in the end, Mike ended up going to a casino table to bid all that money to try and double the amount he already had.

After five hours of unsuccessful gambling, he came home and told her he'd lost all the money, Catherine was furious with him, but soon forgave him and told him to get help if order to try and control his gambling addiction or else she would leave him and Mike did as she had asked.

Over the next couple of years she began to trust him again, with all the financial decisions, once he proved to her that he was fully dedicated to the addiction help program and she saw a change in him, until now.

Mike continued to hold Catherine's soft delicate hands and still stared at her without saying a word.

It was at that moment that Catherine sensed that something very bad was going to come out of this mouth, but what?.  
"What is it Mike?" Catherine asked him softly and he held his wife's hand tighter, looking straight into her blue eyes and responded with a low soft toned voice.  
"I lost everything, Cat" He said calmly as tears began to build up in his eyes.

Catherine let go of his hand and stepped away from him to then observe, as he ran both his hands through his dark brown hair, presenting extreme desperation as he took in deep breaths while pacing up and down the private study covering a small area with him.

"What you mean you lost everything?" Catherine asked puzzled.  
"This week..." he paused trying to find words "This week was my last week at the office, I lost my job." he said covering his mouth with one hand.  
"Why are you only telling me this now?" she asked, exasperated.

Catherine was is her mid-thirties and was a brunette with copper brown hair, she had fair skin and was in great shape, since she attended gym 4 times a week. Mike was in him late thirties, he had short black hair, olive skin, dark brown eyes and was average built and quite was attractive for his age.

"I lost my job last week, because the company was forced to shut down."

"What!" Catherine said in disbelieve.

"The stock market shares fell and the company owed a lot of money to the banks." he said to her.

"But–What about the benefit package?" Catherina asked.

"I got half of what I was supposed to get" he replied hesitantly, taking a sit behind the study desk.

"So, what are you so worried about, we can live a bit tight for a few months with that and the savings stacked away until you or me finds something else, we'll be alright" she said looking less tense about the news she had received from her husband.

She saw Mike seated on the chair looking down on the floor with a concerned look still stuck on his face, like he was still holding on to something. She walked towards the study chair he sat on, kneeled down in front and waited for him to look up at her.

Mike tried, but failed to look up at her, and so she put her hand under his chin, and lifted his face so he could make eye contact with her, and when he did, she saw tears building up in his eyes once again.

"Catherine, I—I lost the benefit package and all our saving on a...horse. In the Derby today. I wanted to double that money so it could get us through for more than just a few months. The horse was winning...I fucked up, Catherine." he said exasperated wiping off his tears with one hand.

Catherine felt motionless and tried to come to terms with what he had just revealed to her.

"No, no, no, no." Catherine reponsed, refusing to accept the truth, she stood up from kneeing down in front of him and gave him a stare of disbelief, then she creased her brows and her eyes darkened over, in rage.

"YOU FUCKING DO THIS TO ME AGAIN, MIKE!" she yelled at him in anger, putting one hand on her mouth and the other on her hip expressing her frustration. "We have two kids to feed, to put through school, college, we still paying a mortgage, your car and let's not forget the cards, FOR GOD SAKE MIKE!. Didn't you think of all that before you threw everything we've build together away on that fucking bid?" she asked him trying to knock some sense into his head, knowing it was too late.

"I was so close, Cat, I really was" he said to her getting up from his chair.

"I can't do this anymore, Mike. The last time I had to use all my savings and all the money my mother left for me, before she died to see us through" she said breaking into tears.

"Cat" Mike tried putting his arms around her.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she pushed him away from her. "YOU'VE DESTROYED THIS FAMILY MIKE!"

"We can work through this. I will find something, I swear"

"NO!" she said shaking her head. "You will have to fix this mess all by yourself this time!" she said to him, face to face.

"What do mean?"

"I'm leaving you" she said, grinding her teeth together in anger.

She wiped the tears from face, turned and left the study and went straight upstairs to their master suite and began packing her clothes into a suitcase.

Jason and Chloe heard their parents arguing from the bottom of the steps and pass their door.

Jason got up from the floor and took his CD player and put a song on for his little sister to hear.

"Stay here okay, I'll go and see what's going on, I'll be right back" Jason told her, Chloe shook her head in agreement and listened to music on the CD player.

Jason got out of his bedroom, shut the door behind him and walked towards his parent's bedroom to get a closer view what was going on, he became a little nervous to go inside the his parents bedroom when he hear them screaming at each other and decided that it was best to stay outside on the passageway and continue to hear their heated argument.

"You can't do this Catherine. You can't leave me on my own, the kids need you?" Mike tried to stop her from packing.

"They're yours now. I dedicated my life to looking after them and you, and what do you do? You throw everything away, when I trusted you to look after us and now you want me to stay? Just so you can do what you just did again and again." Catherine said crying and ripping her clothes out of his hand to continue packing her suitcase. "And how dare you talk about our kids, you fucked up, you fix it! I've received enough disappointment from you, I just can't do it anymore." Catherine took the last clothing items and shut her suitcase.

"Well, if you leaving, you not taking that." Mike told her when she reached for her jewelry box.

"It's mine!"

"I gave you every piece of jewelry inside that box."

"After all you've taken from this family, this is the least I can walk out with."

Mike tried to take the jewelry box from her and she fought him back. In the mist of the light back and forth pulling force on the box, a ring flew out and landed the floor, without them taking notice.

Catherine won the small bout, took the box and put in another bag. Moving passed Mike she then zipped it up all her suitcases, gathered all her last belongings, exhaled deeply and made her way out of the master suite.

When she reached the passage, she almost walked into Jason standing right outside their door, staring back at her while she held onto her suitcases.

Catherine put her belonging aside for a moment, moved closer to her son and hugged him tightly giving him a kiss on his temple, while Mike watched.

"Where are you going mom?" Jason asked her.

"I don't know, Jason. But I promise when I get there I will call to speak with you and your sister, okay." Catherine told him then moved back and placed both hands on each of his shoulders, looked him right in the eye and said. "Jason, promise me you'll look after Chloe while I'm gone." Catherine said to him. "Promise me" Catherine waited for his consent and Jason shook his head to let her know that he would keep his promise.

She then gave him a kiss on his temple once more.

"Good boy. Whatever's happened here, will make sense to you someday. Tell your sister, mommy loves her and mommy will always think of you two." Said the crying and overwhelmed Catherine.

Next she stepped back, retrieved her suitcases and made her way to the front door while Jason watched his father catch up with his mother, continuing to plead for her to stay.

Catherine looked at Jason for the last time when she reached the front door, while he stood at the top of the stairs looking down.

She waved goodbye, blew him a kiss, gave him a weary smile, opened the door and walked outside to her car.

Mike shut the front door behind him and ran after her, while Jason returned to his parent's master suite to find that most of his mother's clothes were emptied out, from the walk in closet.

He felt despondent to be in that situation and felt like crying, but held his tears back and decided to go back to his bedroom to check on Chloe.

As he walked out of his parent's walk in closet, he saw his mother's ring lying on the floor just beneath the end of the bed. He picked the ring up from the floor and he held in his small hand, an 18k gold, 1920's Art Deco diamond purple sapphire ring, centered with a bezel set old cut oval diamond, surrounded by eight petal shaped purple sapphire and outlined with curvaceous border of old cut diamonds.

Jason wanted to run outside and give the ring back to his mom, but then he decided otherwise, instead he put the ring in his pocket for safe guarding, so he could give it back to her when he'd see her again someday.

With a sadden look on his face, Jason returned to his bedroom and found that his Chloe had fallen asleep listening to music on his bed, he laid next to her and watched as she sleep peacefully, not wanting to wake her up to tell her the bad news about their mom leaving.

Catherine shut the trunk of her car once she put in all the suitcases and moved on to the drivers' seat. She started the engine, kept on ignoring Mike's plead and put the car in reverse.

After making it to the end of the drive way, she didn't care that Mike took off running after the car as it reserved.

Once on the road, she put her car into drive and drove off without a backwards glance.

Mike seat on the lawn outside for some time not knowing what do next, hoping and praying she'd return, but after an hour of waiting outside.

He pulled himself together, thought of his children and walked back inside the house to serve them dinner.

Six months passed and no word come from Catherine, the family's home was repossessed by the bank, Mike's car was still owing to the bank, so it too was repossessed, Mike had to sell everything of high value he could to get some money so he could look after both Jason and Chloe.

And within the passing months, life for Mike, Jason and Chloe was uncertain when they found themselves in a position were they had to keep moving from rental to rental, school to school, and the more they moved, the further their living standards dropped.

To make matters worse, Mike started running short of cash flow.

He had applied for many jobs for over the course of the unfavourable six months, when their lives kept changing, even jobs that he wasn't certain he could do, he applied for.

Mike's prayers where soon answered when he was hired by a family car sales business that specialized in selling used cars Near West Side, Chicago.

He moved closer to work, renting a comfortably affordable, three bedroom apartment in West Garfield Park were the neighborhood was slightly rough.

With the job not paying much, he still felt relieve that, at least he'd receive a granted paycheck every month with commission. That alone, would allow him and his family to settle down and start somewhere again.

Jason and Chloe began schooling again and adjusting into the new neighborhood, which wasn't easy at first, but their closeness kept them going.

They never spoke to anyone throughout elementary school where they attended together, and lived in their own world where they never allowed anyone to come in until such time they got home and spoke to their dad.

One day Mike was at the office when suddenly his cellphone rang, he hadn't changed his number since his wife left, because he had anticipated that someday she would call him to speak to their children, just like he heard her promise Jason.

"Mike speaking." he answered his phone not recognizing the number.

"Mike. It's me, Catherine." the voice on the other side of the phone responded in a calmly manner.

"How have you been, and where are you?" Mike asked her sounding relieved and concerned at the same time.

"Look, I need to send you some divorce papers. I need some sort of address where I can post them. The papers need to be signed off as soon as possible so a date can be set for you and I, to meet in court and to finalize everything." Catherina cut the conversation short by going straight to the point.

"Okay, hmm. So, you're not going to ask me how the kids are doing?" Mike asked her slightly taken aback from what she had just told him on the phone.

"Mike, please just sent me what I need, Okay." Catherine was short and frank with her words, ignoring the subject about her children.

"Okay, I'll send you my work address on this number." Mike replied back with a low toned voice.

"Thank you." Catherine said back to him and hung up the phone, before he could say anything else to her.

Mike looked down at his cellphone once Catherine hung up the call and thought for a moment,that, the call he had just received must've been from a stranger who had perhaps dialed his number by mistake, because for him to believe that, it came from the women he once married, was mindboggling.

Later that afternoon though, while Mike was on lunch, he came to terms with the reality that had hit him with a call that morning and decided to send a text message to Catherine's number with his work address, once he did that, he was served with divorce papers within a week.

Mike wanted to keep the divorce a secret from Jason and Chloe, so he locked the papers in his draw at work and never took it home.

It took Mike another week to make a decision on whether or not to sign the damn papers, and as he kept thinking about the cold call he received from Catherine, he signed the papers and send it back to the address he had received it from, which was from an attorney's office.

Six weeks passed and the day came where Mike had to go to court to finally face Catherine.

He kissed his children goodbye on the morning he had to go to court, and saw them off to school before he then made his way to the magistrate court.

The meeting with the judge was set for 10:00 am and Mike was there on time, representing himself, as he couldn't afford lawyer.

A few minutes after he sat down, Catherine walked in with her lawyer and another man who was in his late forties.

He was a tall dark figure, ' _not the sort of man Catherine would go for'_ Mike thought to himself.

Catherine and her lawyer sat on the opposite side of Mike, behind the court table and chairs provided.

She sat quietly the whole time and didn't even look in Mike's direction while they waited for the judge to appear, so proceedings could take place.

"All Rise. the court is now in section." the court announcer addressed everyone present in the court room.

Judge Logan Turner was a female judge who dealt with divorce settlement cases and was there to finalize and make sure that the divorce ran smoothly with both parties having to agree to go through with their decisions.

She walked in, dressed in a plain black robe and took her seat by the bench and signaled that she was ready to proceed.

"You may all take your sits." the court announcer addressed everyone present once more.

Judge Logan Turner begin with the proceedings spending most of the time speaking and explaining to Mike and Catherine how the divorce process worked and what would happen after they walked out of court that morning.

She also explained to them that the decisions that would be made in court that day would be final and they would have no way of ever changing those decisions, unless they remarried again.

Judge Logan Turner then asked both of them if it was out of their own willingness to go their separate ways and they both agreed in replying;

"Yes, You're Honor."

Then the part Mike was dreading the most came, when the custody of the children came to play.

"I believe that the couple present here today has under aged children, am I correct?" Judge Logan Turner asked.

"Two children, you're Honor." Mike rectified.

"Two children, and with whom are they staying with at this point in time?" Judge Logan Turner asked.

"With me you're Honor. And if it's not too much to ask, I would prefer if they remain in my custody." Mike replied straight away to the Judge Logan Turner.

"I understand Mr. Millers that you would like to remain with your children, but I need to know from your soon to be ex-wife if she too would like to take part in bringing up the children you both brought into this world. So, Mrs. Millers would you like to say anything with regards to your children's custody?" Judge Logan replied to Mike and then turned her attention to Catherine.

Catherine looked straight at the Judge and replied "Your Honor. If he wants full custody of our children, he can have it." Catherine replied said firmly.

"Well..." Judge Logan Turner said slightly stunned by what she heard Catherine say "...if that is your final decision, full custody will be granted to Mr. Millers. But are you sure this is what you want?" Judge Logan Tuner asked Catherine once more.

"I'm certain you're Honor." Catherine replied.

Mike held back his emotions of angry, confusion, guilt and fragile heart, but mostly he was wondering who that women was, that looked and sounded just like his wife Catherine, who now stood beside him emotionless towards him, towards her children.

This new Catherine, was so cold, she couldn't even look at him. This new Catherine was dark and unresponsive.

"I'll take you word for it then Mrs. Millers." Judge Logan Turner said, writing down some notes on some legal documents in front of her

Once all the paper work was signed and Judge Logan Turner announced that they were official divorced according to the law that once kept them together, Mike and Catherine left the court room from opposite exiting doors at the end of the room.

When he reached the outdoors however, Mike couldn't keep his silence anymore and went straight up to confront Catherine, who was making her way down the court building stairs ahead of him.

Catching up to her at the bottom of the concrete steps, as she took her last few steps before reaching the car she was traveling in with the tall dark figure accompanying her that morning.

Mike stood in front of her and the dark figure, not caring if they were in a hurry.

This time around, Mike had a chance to have a closer look at Catherine, she looked like a different woman.

She was dressed in leopard mini dress with net stockings, her hair was pitch black and styled in an up do beehive, she wore large sized gold plated earrings, her nails were long and painted in black, and she was wearing a tacky fur jacket with sunglasses. When she saw Mike, she paused and looked back at him.

"Where have you have been all these months? The kids have been asking about you and you never gave them a call like you promised, Jason, that day you left, and now you give me full custody without a fight, who are you!" Mike asked Catherine letting all his emotions out.

"I am not you wife anymore, that's for sure." Catherine replied back to him in a hastily annoyed sort of tone.

Mike reached for her sunglasses and removed them from her face and she tried to take them back from him.

"Look at me!" Mike told her, Catherine looked straight at him, and he could see that she was under the influence of some sort of drug by looking into her eyes.

She looked exhausted and she had heavy bags under them. She looked lethargic.

"You're on crack!" Mike said looking at her, shocked.

"Okay that's enough, let's go Cat." said the dark figure, to Catherine, in a low base voice.

"I'm not done with her!" Mike said to the man.

"Well, I say you are. You're not her husband anymore, so get moving." the man cautioned Mike.

"And if I don't?" Mike defied the man.

The man moved and grabbed Mike by each side of the edge of his blazer, came face to face with him then head-butted him before pushing Mike out of the way.

Mike fell down hard onto the cemented sidewalk, and had a slight laceration on the right side of his forehead where he had been hit which bleed out a little.

Catherine saw him hurt on the sidewalk and reached out to him to try and help him get up from the ground.

"I'm sorry." she said offering to lift him up.

"Don't bother!" Mike refused her help then pulled himself together.

"It's not my fault, he's the only one who can give me what I need." Catherine said to Mike.

"What has he done to you?" Mike asked her.

"He has opened my eyes to a different world, in many ways, you wouldn't understand." Catherine told Mike.

"Catherine, let's go." the dark figure called told her while holding the door open to a black SUV.

"I still love them, Mike." Catherine said to Mike before she turned and walked to the car.

"You're dead, that's what I'm going to tell them." Mike said when Catherine had her back turned to him.

"Then do so, it's better that way." Catherine responded looking back at him for the last time, then got in the black SUV and drove off leaving Mike standing on side watching the car drive off with the women who once was the love of his life.

Retrieving a paper tissue from his pocket, Mike wiped of the blood from his forehead, threw the tissue in the recycling bin then made his way home to his children.

The whole way home he began to think of ways to break the sad news to his children about their mother's, supposed death.

After breaking the new to his children after dinner, Jason and Chloe felt depressed and they both for months on end, to help them with the loss, Mike took then to a social centre near by to consult with in house volunteering psychiatrist.

Chloe was mostly affected by her mother's death, and to try to console her, Jason took the ring he had of his mom and gave it to her to keep just so she could have something that once belonged to their mother as closure.

Jason's gesture worked, and as time passed the wounds began to heal and soon they returned to their daily lives.

Chloe kept her mother's ring stored in a box in her bedroom which she would hide away and only open when she felt she needed to talk to her.

She never took the ring out or wore it, because she was afraid it would get lost and it would be like losing her mom all over again. At that point in her life, the ring meant everything to her.

A few more years passed and Jason had to go to senior high all by himself without Chloe, and the time had come where Jason and Chloe would have to spend time apart from each other and mingle with other people.

Jason was three grades ahead of Chloe, so he had to face the first three years of high school all alone.

Being quiet and secluded in high school, as he was, he soon became an easy target for bullying from a popular group of boys in high school.

Jason tolerated insults on a daily basis for months, since the time he had started attending classes.

He would have to swallow remarks directed to him in class, during lunch and even during basketball practices.

His mind began to slowly react and kept telling him to rebel againste his bullying, even though they would always come to him in numbers.

It was a day like any other, when lunch bresk began and Jason went to the student cafeteria to have his lunch in peace.

That day Jamel and his group approached him just as he took a bite out of his sandwich. Ignoring his presences and minding his own business, Jason oaid no attention to him and continued to each his sandwich.

In a moment, Jamel's group surrounded him and then, Jamel reached for Jason's sandwich, sat beside him and began enjoying the ham, cheese and lettuce his sister prepared for him that morning.

He sat down and waited for Jason to make eye contact with him, but instead of reacting, Jason, who at that point was sixteen years old and was in tenth grade, he had dark brown hair, light brown hazel eyes, and he had an athlete shaped body which came from playing basketball, decided to avoid conflict.

Jason's dress code was always a plain t-shirt, a pair of jeans, plain sneakers and wore his favorite basketball ball cap with his team Chicago bulls on display in the front.

He wore his hat backwards when he was indoors and turned it the right way around when he was outside, he always kept his hair at medium length in summer and left it slightly long in winter.

Jamel to each bite of the sandwich and chewed it, in such a way to purposely intimidate Jason as he gradually moved from his seat and tried to go somewhere else.

As he was about to get up, Jamel instructed one of his boys to forcefully push him back down onto his seat.

"Did I say you can go?" Jamel asked Jason in an authoritative tone.

"Look Jamel, you clearly have what you came here for, just let me go." Jason said trying to get away from the unpleasant surroundings he found himself in.

"I didn't get what I came here for, so you ain't goin' nowhere!" Jamel told him.

"What do you want from me?" Jason asked looking at Jamel feeling irate.

Jamel finished the sandwich, moved back on the chair he was sitting on and told Jason to stand in front of him.

Jason stood up quickly to try and get Jamel off his back.

Jamel then got up, circled him, stared him out, up and down, as though he was some interesting sculpture.

Then he stopped in front of Jason and removed his favorite Chicago bulls basketball cap and but it on his head.

"I'll keep that." he said to Jason.

Jason's jaw tightened as he held back on his on his fury and walked away from Jamel.

As he turned to walk, Jamel put his feet in front of Jason's, and he tripped, felling onto the Cafeteria's floor.

Everyone who'd been paying attention to what was happening, laughed including Jamel and his gang.

Jason got up from the floor, brushed himself off and continued walking with his back turned to Jamel and his gang.

"Yeah walk. White trash." Jamel said to Jason.

And those last two words set him off the edge, causing him to pause, and allowinghis body sub come to anger that had been building inside of him.

He curled his fingers, formed a fist on each hand and then turned around and charged towards Jamel, he tackled him from the waist down and they both fell to the floor, he then delivered two heavy punched to Jamel's face, one busting his lip, the other busting his nose, before his gang pulled him off.

Jamel's lips and nose began to bleed while the other boys locked Jason down with their arms allowing Jamel to move in and punch him several times, around his upper and lower abdominal region. When all the students in the Cafeteria became aware of what was happening, they all called out.

"FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT…" So they could attract a bigger crowd.

who was on duty during lunch at the other side of the Cafeteria made his way through the group that gathered around to stop the fight.

Jamel's gang moved away as soon as they saw approaching and released Jason.

When reached the fight site, he found Jason curled up on the floor in a fetal position bearing out that he was in agonizing pain from the punched he had received.

"Who started this?" asked directing his question straight to Jamel and his gang.

reached down to help Jason sit on a neatby chair then turned his attention back to the scene.

"If no one is going to step forward and tell what exactly happened here, I am taking you, you're whole gang and that boy to the head master's office, so all of you can be suspended, since you wish to disturb the peace in this school." said said to Jamel and everyone present.

"Well, I was sittin' in the corner here and this white trash attacked me." Jamel said to .

"Whoa!" the group of students reacted.

"Really? That boy sitting in that chair, in pain, is the one that started all this?" questioned Jamel pointing back at Jason.

"My boys will back me up" Jamel replied arrogantly back to , wiping the blood from his busted lip with a napkin.

"Is is true young man, you started all this?" asked Jason.

"No–sir." Jason replied struggling to get up from the chair he was sitting on. "Jamel and his gang–have been making my life a living hell ever since I walked through the gates of this school. And today was just another one of those days, everyone here has seen it happen before." Jason continued slightly braking up with the pain he still felt.

"What! He lyin'! This white trash just making up bullshit!" Jamel responded defensively.

"We'll see about that. BY A SHOW OF HANDS, CAN ANYONE HERE PRESENT, BACK THIS YOUNG MEN'S STORY." asked the whole group of students gathered in the Cafeteria referring to Jason.

Jamel and his gang watched the group of students like hawks to see if anyone would come forward for Jason and testify on his behalf, or at least confirm Jason's claims.

The stared around to see who would be the first person that would come forth, so he and his gang could caught them out and give them a beating, after school, for ever having to interfere with what they did.

The gang and Jamel were a notorious bunch inside and outside school.

Jamel was the leader of the pack and he worked for 'Uncle John' and selling pot on the street of inner West Garfield Park.

Afte Tye gave up game, he stepped forward and he took his place as the high earner.

stood waiting for someone to pick their hand up, or even step forward to back up Jason's claims.

After a while, no one did and instead they all just stood there staring around at each other to see who would be brave enough to take on Jamel and his crew.

Jason stood looking around the room and saw the fear on in some of the students' faces, and felt defenseless.

"Okay, it looks like you coming with me." told Jason feeling sorry for him.

Jason gave Jamel and his gang a discredited stare, then followed to the head master's office.

Jamel waved Jason goodbye and then gave him the middle finger when wasn't looking.

Before the crowd of students dispersed and before Jason and reached the exit door of the Cafeteria to, they heard someone call .

"MR. COBBIE, YO, MR. COBBIE." a young male called out as he made his way through the crowd of students who still looked on, in shock.

"Tye Johnson. Don't tell me you had something to with this fight?" asked him expecting the worse, since Tye had just come back from juvenile and had a track record of being suspended several times from the school since he'd started back when he too was in the game.

Tye Johnson was also sixteen years old at the time and the scar on the left side of his face, which ran from beneath his left eye right up to his left jawline, was still fresh.

He wore a cap, a black baggy printed t-shirt with pair of jeans and white Jordan sneakers.

Jamel was the one person who sold Tye out, by informing one of the teachers of the location which Tye used to sell drugs on the schools premises since, when he saw that Tye was getting more praises from 'Uncle John' then he was.

The day Tye was caught selling the drugs and was taken to jail, Jamel made sure that he was present to see him being taken away.

Jamel and Tye were once part of the same group, but 'Uncle John' always valued Tye more, because Tye was more dedicated to the game. In order to get the praise, Jamel needed to get Tye out of his way, and the the best way he though of was to expose him to the law.

"Not this time at least." Tye replied to .

"What is it then, son?" asked him.

Tye looked back at Jamel and his gang, still hanging around, then at Jason and replied to .

" look. The fight that happened here, wasn't this white boy's fault." Tye said and Jason's eyes widen to his confession.

"Tell me more?" Mr. Cobbie seemed interested.

"I saw everything, I was sittin' right there." Tye said pointing to the table that was close to the one where Jason always had his lunch.

"So who started it?" Mr. Cobbie asked again.

"Jamel and his gang, like he said." Tye said referring to Jason.

"Alright, look. I still gotta do something about this fight" Mr. Cobbie said.

"Yeah, I know, but it wasn't him who started it." Tye said.

"JAMEL, COME HERE." called him out.

Jamel walked towards and gave Tye a stern look as he walked past him, then positioned himself in front of .

"Look I'm going to have to take all three of you to the head master's office, but Tye. I'm only taking you as a witness, alright." said to all three boys.

"Alright." Tye agreed shrugging his shoulders.

The three young man made their way to the head master's office and told them to sit outside the office reception area, while he went inside to inform the head master on what had just happened.

The secretary kept her eyes on the boys, just in case any of them wanted to start something. Tye seat in the middle between Jason and Jamel and they all waited patiently to be called in.

"So now, the white trash's you're bitch, now?" Jamel said to Tye, sloughing in his seat with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Huh. If this white trash was my bitch like you sayin! We wouldn't be sittin here like this right now. We'd be settling this, the old hood way right! Which you still owe me." Tye refreshed Jamel's memory.

The _old hood way_ meant setting up a time and place to have a full on fight to settle their differences, that fight would only end until the opposition apologized and threw in their towel. Sometimes the injuries to the individuals involved in the fight were fatal and life threating, as punches and kicks could come from any direction and other skin penetration objects would be used.

"And I'm no one's bitch!" Jason just felt like he had to clarify things.

"Y'all keep quite now, I won't have y'all starting any trouble while I'm in here." said the overweight African American secretary, looking at them through the top of her glasses that where placed more at the tip of her nose, then on her face.

The three listened to her and continued to wait in silence before they were called into the office.

Not soon after their little exchanging of words reappeared opening the door to the head master's office and told them to come in.

Jason and Jamel were asked to sit on both chairs in front of the head master while Tye and Mr. Cobbie remained standing behind both of them.

Mr. Perry was the head master, he was an African American man, who was in his mid-50's, a little overweight and grey, and he too wore glasses, the old fashion way.

Mr. Perry always came to school dressed in suits he could afford with the salary he received from the school and he was an honest man, but at the same time he was a hard disciplinarian and he was the right men for the job when it came to dealing with teenagers who lived in a rough neighborhood where the high school was located.

"So boys, came in here and told me that you two had a fight in the cafeteria, am I right?" Mr. Perry asked them with his deep voice.

"Yes sir." Jamel and Jason answered at the same time.

"Young man." Mr. Perry focused on Jason first, "I heard that you said that Jamel and his gang have been victimizing you for quite some time now, is that true?"

"Yes, sir." Jason replied.

"And have you told any of the teachers about it before?" Mr. Perry directed his question to Jason.

"On several occasions I have, but nothing has ever been done, sir." Jason said.

"Jamel is that true, have you and your gang tormented this young man for quite some time?" Mr. Perry asked Jamel to hear his side of the story.

"No Sir, he's just makin' lies up bout all that." Jamel replied.

"Well, if his lyin', why you wearin' his cap on your head then!" Tye burst out suddenly without being invited to the conversation.

"No one's talkin' to you!" Jamel came back with a quick response, looking back at Tye and then turning back on his chair to face Mr. Perry.

"Tye Johnson. I will come back to you" Mr. Perry interrupted before the conversation got heated. "So, at the end of the day a fight did happen at the school today and a certain punishment needs to be given out. So which one of you two do you think I should punish the most? "Mr. Perry asked both Jason and Jamel, putting them on the spot. "I can't let this pass, I need to set an example because, if I don't. Sooner or later there will be fights breaking out, all around this school and I don't want that" Mr. Perry continued.

After a moment of reflecting, neither Jason nor Jamel said anything.

"Who do you think should leave the school for a while Tye? Seeing that you the only witness that came forward for this young man." Mr. Perry asked Tye referring ones more to Jason.

"Well, Mr. Perry I just got one question and maybe this question will help you decide on who should stay behind or go." Tye said making Mr. Perry and wonder what the question might be, coming from him.

"Well then, what question is that son?" Mr. Perry asked him.

"Would you rather suspend the boy that has been victimized for a long time and finally decided to defend himself for ones in his life, or would you rather suspend the bully whose making his life a living hell and who probably is in possession of some weed as we speak?" Tye asked Mr. Perry.

Jamel got up from his chair unexpectedly and tried to attack Tye, but before he could reach him, placed himself in front of Tye and forced him to sit back down on the chair.

Jamel sat back on the chair and tried to calm himself down.

"You smoking weed at school, Jamel?" Mr. Perry asked him.

"What! No!" Jamel denied.

"Check his pockets." Tye suggested.

"Get up, son." Mr. Cobbie instructed Jamel and he got up.

"Empty out your pockets." Mr. Perry instructed him.

Jamel reached down into his baggy jean pockets and turned them out in front of everyone in the office.

"See, nothing." Jamel confirmed and them seat down again.

"Why are you making false accusations Tye?" Mr. Cobbie asked.

"I ain't making any false accusations, you just haven't checked his inner pockets." Tye said confidently.

asked Jamel to stand up once again, but this time he stood by the wall with his legs spread apart, did a check on him and found some weed on Jamel's socks and inner pockets of the shorts he wore underneath his baggy jeans and T-shirt.

Once the evidence was placed in front of Mr. Perry, the decision was made that Jamel would be suspended till further notice and Jason would remain at school.

Mr. Perry then got on the phone and called the police and they told him that they'd be at the school shortly to collect the evidence of weed and question Jamel.

After that, Jason and Tye were dismissed and before they walked out the office, Tye reached for Jason's cap that was still on Jamel's head and said to him before he left the room.

"Payback's a bitch. Sorry Mr. Perry." Tye said and walked out.

When Jason and Tye got to the reception area, Tye gave Jason his cap back.

"Here, man." Tye said as he handed back the cap to Jason.

"Thanks." Jason said getting his cap. "And , thanks for what you did in there too." Jason thanked Tye.

"I did it for me." Tye let him know.

"But at least I get to stay at school." Jason said.

"Look after yourself, alright." Tye told him and then made his way back into the school hallway.

"Wait." Jason followed him.

"You play basketball too, right?" Jason asked Tye.

"Yeah I do, why?" Tye asked.

"Well, I've seen you in practice and you good at what you do." Jason said.

"Good?" Tye arched an eyebrow.

"Well, the best this school has so far. Could you like, teach me some of your tricks so coach can perhaps put me in court in the next game?" Jason asked Tye.

"What do you what man, a cuddle or something for saving your ass from being suspended?" Tye said abruptly trying to avoid having any involvement with Jason.

"You know what, it's alright man; forget about what I just said." Jason felt the hostile response that came from Tye and decided to turn and walk the opposite direct back to class, feeling somewhat discarded.

Tye sighed deeply, had a change of heart and called out to Jason, "Wait!" He yelled and Jason paused to listen.

"I'll teach you some of my tricks. But you gotta promise that you ain't gonna to become better than your teacher, alright" Tye said with glimpse of a smile to Jason.

"Alright" Jason responded with the same gesture.

"I'm Tye" He extended a hand.

"I'm Jason" They shook hands.

And as from that day onwards Jason and Tye became inseparable.

Basketball was their one common passion and they both played for the school team.

Whenever there was a game at the school grounds or away and they both of them played in the court, they would pass the ball mostly to each other and win most of the games for the school, that's how good they were together.

In an unusual sort of way, Jason became the bother Tye never had and between them, Jason was always the one who knocked some sense into Tye's head whenever he felt he was going off track, when it came to academics.

Because Tye sometimes was more focused on basketball and hooking with girls.

Together, Tye and Jason weren't the brightest of pupils in class but they passed with average grades which meant something to both their parents.

In terms of dating, Tye dated a lot of girls due to being popular and for playing in the basketball team at the school, and Jason, well, he dated girls too, but not as many as Tye did since the only person he was mostly interested in was Brianna and he didn't want to give her the wrong impression and seem as if he was a playboy.

As for Chloe and Brianna, their relationship blossomed from the first time they met at the family's thanks giving dinner when Tye invited her family over.

When they reached high school, they each bought one another a two piece heart chains that said 'BBF Forever'.

Each one wore half of the heart around their neck, just to show how committed they were to each other.

After puberty, Chloe become the life of the party sort of person; she was bubbly, confident in her own skin, expressive about her feelings which made her out to be an easy-to-read sort of person, but sometime she could be quite snoopy and stick her nose in other people's business when she shouldn't have.

At the end she only did it because she wanted the best for everyone.

Chloe was beautiful too. She had hazel brown eyes, apple cheeks, a perfect smile and fair skin.

She was part of the cheerleading team in high school and she was the captain of the team, so her body was apt and she always looked good in any clothes she would wear.

She had such good taste in selecting clothes and sometime she would even get complements on what she was wore from the other African American girls, which was never a norm around a gang riden society.

Chloe's taste in boyfriends though, was not as good as her taste in clothes.

The first boyfriend she had was alright, she dated him for only two weeks though, because she found out that he was only with her because he made a bet with his friends to see how fast he could get the captain of cheerleading squad into to bed with him, but that never happened and instead of sex, she decided to confront him, in front of the whole school in the Cafeteria and gave him a piece of her mind by telling him exactly what she thought of him when she heard the truth about him in the ladies restroom one day.

 _...First boyfriend..._

"Who the hell do you think you are? You placed a bet with your friends to try and see how quick you can get me to bed? Your sick little jerk, go wenk yourself, because you wouldn't even know what pussy is if it hit you in the face! You fucking perv!" She said to him and poured the cup of water she had in her hand on his head and then called him an 'asshole' in front of everyone before storming off, holding hands with Brianna.

"OOOOHHH" the crowd in the Cafeteria reacted once Chloe was done, her dumped ex sat still, surrounded by all his friends on a chair with his T-shirt and jeans wet and did nothing besides shake his head in embarrassment while his friends and everyone else looked at him laughing, he then stood up, laughed at himself too, paid his losing bet and went to dry himself up it the restroom.

...Next Boyfriend...

The next boyfriend Chloe dated was, Tyrel Phillips.

Tyrel Phillips was 'Uncle John's' nephew and he most certainly sold drugs, but when compared to the other distributors, he kept himself clean from having anything to do with ruthless or gangster behavior just because he sold drugs.

He didn't want anything to do with guns, but carried a pocket knife around just as protection in case he was threaten and had to do some minor damage.

Chloe met him at the school hall when she came out of the restroom once and he was sent to stand outside a his class for not having done his homework in history.

She saw him standing outside chewing a gum and looking at her as she walked past him, when their eyes met for a moment, he licked his lip and blew a kiss to her, which she took as an insult, causing her to stop on her track and decided to confront him.

"Excuse me! Did you just do what I think you did?" Chloe asked Tyrel.

"What, you didn't like it?"

"Ah!" Chloe's mouth dropped open in disbelief and then she gave him a down stare from head to toe, before walking away, deciding not to take a chance at teaching him some manners.

"Hold up!" Tyrel caught up with her, she ignored his call and continued walking to her class.

"Look, the only reason I did that, is coz I think you cute." Tyrel said to Chloe.

"Cute." Chloe said with creasing her brows at him.

"Pretty, beautiful, all that." Tyrel said.

"Thanks." Chloe said and continued walking.

"Would you like to go out for some pizza or catch a movie or something along those lines?" Tyrel asked Chloe causing her to pause once more and turn and to face him.

"What makes you think I would want to go out with you? Boys like you who stand outside the classroom are bad news, alright." Chloe tried to brush him off.

"Think on it and let me after school." Tyrel said to Chloe.

"I don't even know you." Chloe said.

"Well if we go out sometime you might just find out a lot about me, and then I can find out more about you too." Tyrel tried to convince her.

"I have to get to class." Chloe told him and continued walking.

"I'll catch up with you later, sweet cheeks." Tyrel said to her and licked his lips.

Chloe shook her with a glimpse of a smile on her face and then entered her class room down the hall.

After school while she waited on Brianna, Tyrel came to her to find out what the answer of his date proposal was.

"I haven't thought about it." Chloe tried to ignore him but it was just too hard to do it, because he looked appealing in her eyes and was charismatic in some many ways.

"At least give me your digits or something, so we can talk tonight, maybe that might help with your decision making." Tyrel persisted.

Chloe and Tyrel stood flirtatiously facing each other for a while and when Tyrel licked his natural pink lips in front of her, it made Chloe loss her focus, from staring at his eyes to concentrating on his lips, wondering how they'd taste in her mouth.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Tyrel asked her breaking her concentration.

"Alright, I'll give you my digits, but you can only call me at 8pm sharp, coz after that I don't answer, okay." Chloe said to him.

"Alright" Tyrel said taking out his cellphone.

When Brianna walked out the school doors, she saw Chloe outside talking to Tyrel while he had his cellphone out and by the time she reached them, Tyrel had already said goodbye to Chloe and walked off.

"Who was that?" Brianna asked.

"I'll find out tonight I think. I just gave him my digits. He said his going to call me." Chloe said as she and Brianna waited for Mike to pull up with his car and drop them off at home.

Mike had always been given permission from the car dealership he worked in to pick his daughter up from school in the afternoons, when he wasn't closing a deal of course.

The apartment that he shared with his children was a few blocks away from Brianna's house which made it easy for him to drop her off in the afternoons too, because it was on his way back to work.

At 8pm sharp was, when Chloe was in her bedroom getting ready for bed her cellphone rang and she picked up on the third ring.

"Chloe speaking, hello." She answered not recognizing the number.

"8 pm sharp right." Tyrel said on the other side of the line.

"Yeah, I didn't even get your name and I'm pretty sure you didn't get mine too. So, under what name did you save my number?" Chloe asked.

"I saved it under sweet cheek, but now I'll change it to Sweet Chloe, since I've heard your name when you pick up. Mine's Tyrel but some people call me 'the good kid'." he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just a code name."

"Code name for what?"

"You ask a lot of questions for a first phone call."

"Well, you said if I spoke to you it might help me make a decision as to whether or not I should got out with you on a date. I need to know what I'm getting myself into."

"You right, but let's just skip that part."

"Okay, so how come I've never really seen you around the school?"

"That's, coz I haven't been around that much."

"Why and where were you?"

"Hustling and trying to sort some things out in my life."

"Hustling?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Yeah. I lost my oldest brother and my mama can't look after herself no more,so. I had to get my uncle to help us out which came with certain favors I needed to do for him for a while. I think I said too much now." Tyrel said with a slightly uncomfortably tone in his voice.

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"It's alright."

"Ask me something?" Chloe changed the subject.

"You got a boyfriend?"

"No."

"You lookin' for one?"

"Can't really say at this point."

"Maybe I can help you make that decision too."

"Let's just settle for pizza and then move on from there."

"Sounds good to me."

"I'll let you know when okay, and then we can chat a little more and find out more about each other face to face."

"Can't wait." He said.

In the course of three weeks they got to know each other better and began dating.

Tyrel told Chloe the true meaning behind his code name by coming clean about the fact that he dealt with drugs in order to survive and help his mother out, and also to pay gratitude to his uncle for helping them through tough times.

Tyrel's uncle was a bad man, and Chloe knew that, but and after hearing all that he had to say to her, she didn't judge him, because she knew him to be a calm and gentle person.

He smoked weed from time to time to keep himself hassle-fee and to forget about his problems and there were many occasions where Chloe would ask him to have a go at his weed, but he would always deny her from having to try and smoke any of it, because he thought it would be best that she never did, and told her that smoking was bad for her health, plus he didn't want to get into trouble with her brother since he liked her a lot.

Besides Chloe being the person that she was, always so free and casual about everything in her life, Tyrel was her first, he was the only guy she really felt comfortable with when it came down to having sex for the very first time.

And, she lost her virginity to him at the age of sixteen just before her seventeenth birthday, because she decided that on Tyrel's seventeenth Birthday she would give herself to

as present to him, which he had waited patiently for so long.

 **Chapter Four**

 _...Back to graduation Day_

"So Bri, we going to the party tonight right?" Chloe asked when she finished adding some red lip gloss to her lips.

"What party?" Brianna asked clueless.

At this point Jason and Tye where having their conversation about the basketball match they were going to play that weekend while some hip-hop music played in the background.

"Didn't you see all the fliers that went around the school during the past few weeks?"

"You know I don't pay attention to that."

"Well, we're still going right! Please." Chloe pleaded.

"I don't know Chloe, every time you and Tyrel have a fight, it's before a party and you always make up during a party, and I'm always left standing or sitting on my own."

"This time it's going to be different, I swear, it's our graduation party, please can we go." Chloe made a sad puppy face with hazel brown eye and blonde hair, which she had recently decided to dye, since she was originally a brunette like her brother from the first day Brianna met her.

The decision to go blonde, was purely for the most famous saying that 'Blondes have more fun', and Chloe was at a point in her life where she wanted to have more fun after high school.

Chloe was completely in love with hair and make-up and she loved spending most of her time buying and paging through fashion magazines to try and catch up with latest trends.

She developed a passion for make-up and hair from the times she, visited her Aunt Martha in San Francisco who owed a beauty salon.

She would go there for the period of 2-3 weeks during the summer holidays and she would always come back and try all the hairstyles she learned to make on Brianna hair, except for the ones that involved cutting,of course, due to Brianna still not trusting her enough with scissors.

During the time in which Chloe was away on holiday, Brianna would go and spend some time with her twin girl cousins Alisha and Kalisha in South Side Chicago while Jason, Tye and Paige continued working for a living.

This year however, Brianna planned on staying home to use her time productively by looking for a job.

For graduation Chloe decided to wear a dark blue v –neck short sleeve sheath dress with a red waist belt that matched her pair of red high stilettos and red lip gloss.

"I'll think about it over graduation." Brianna replied back to Chloe.

"Okay. How's my make-up looking?" Chloe asked Brianna.

"Fab." she replied.

When they arrived at the school everyone was extremely excited. All the students were asked to gather around at the school's auditorium for a quick briefing before the ceremony began, and while families and friends found their seats.

At 11 am, the doors of the school hall, opened, and all the students made their way in and took their seats.

Brianna was seated in front of Chloe just as it had been arranged by the school during the sitting layouts, practices. Proceedings began when the MC called the Head Master of the school, who was still Mr. Perry, to step forward and congratulated all of the students who had made it and was also asked to give them a few words of encouragement for the future. Once he was done, the MC called Kelly Lewis, the top achiever of the whole twelfth grade and the brightest student who everyone knew would follow a career in law since she had been accepted in one of Chicago's top law universities through a scholarship program.

She got up with confidence and stood at the poll, posed herself and delivered her speech.

"Good Morning Mr. Perry, teachers, parents, friends and fellow students. Four years have passed and the time has come to graduate. Hard work and dedication has bought us to where we are right now...'

"I am so bored of listening to all these speeches already." Chloe moved forward and whispered in Brianna ear, breaking Brianna's concentration from the speech.

"It will all be over soon." Brianna turned her head slightly to reply back to Chloe.

"Are you still thinking about the party tonight?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good." Chloe said and then moved back on her seat.

"...And I conclude by saying, to the class of 2010, Congratulations for coming this far and remember if you dream of a successful future you need to start building it from today, for you are now responsible for that future. Thank you.'

Kelly Lewis got applauses from everyone in the room and then made her way to her seat.

The M.C stepped forward once again and announced that the time had come to hand out the diplomas to the students, who waited in anticipation for their names to be called out.

Each row of students had a chance to get up and form a queue, come up by the steps that led on to the stage to receive their qualification and shake the hand of Mr. Perry the Head Master. The first name was called Alice Brown followed others. Then Brianna Johnson...Chloe Millers...Tyrel Phillips...

When Tyrel's name was called out to collect his diploma, almost every student present in the hall cheered for him purely for him being popular, cool and considered gangster amongst some of the students in school.

Most of the guys his age, who were in the game never got as far as he did because they'd never managed to stay in school and complete twelfth grade, like he did.

When Tyrel received his diploma he held up with a big smile on his face and waved it to everyone.

When he made eye contact with Chloe, he blew a kiss to her before walking off the stage and back to his seat.

Chloe rolled her eyes at his gesture and Brianna turned and smiled at her.

Once everyone received their diplomas the ceremony was conclude and refreshments where served.

"Congratulations you two." Paige said to Brianna and Chloe.

"Thank you Ms. Johnson." Chloe said.

"Thanks mama." Brianna said to her mother.

"Well done, and remember this is only the beginning." Mike congratulated the girls as well.

"True that." Tye agreed with Mike.

"Congratulations ladies." Jason said.

"Thanks Bro." Chloe said.

"Thanks Jason." Brianna replied back to him timidly.

After congratulating the girls, Paige and Mike went off to get some refreshments and began having conversations with other parents that were helping themselves to the refreshments too, who shared the same interest in hearing where and what their children were going to study after graduation.

Tye and Jason didn't feel like staying inside the school hall any longer, so they decided to go outside to listen to music in their car while they waited for Chloe and Brianna who went on to return their graduation gowns and hats at the schools reception.

"So, are we going to the party tonight or what?" Chloe asked Brianna again.

"You still asking me that, you can really be quite persistent, can't you?"

"You haven't given me an answer yet."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"We can go to the party tonight."

"Yes, yes." Chloe said feeling excited. "We can get dressed at your place tonight right? Seeing that it's a walking distance from the party and all." Chloe said to Brianna.

"Sure thing." Brianna said to Chloe giving her half a smile.

Chloe smiled back, then offered her arm to Brianna and then they walked out of the school arm in arm.

Chloe went back to Brianna's house afterwards, but asked the boys to stop by her place first to collect a few items of clothing for the party that night.

When they got to Brianna's house, they both went straight from the car to Brianna's bedroom, and hang out for the rest of the day.

Spending time on planning their outfits for the after party while Jason and Tye went on to practice some basketball to pass the time.

"Did you hear how loud the crowd was cheering when Tyrel's name was called out this morning?" Chloe said to Brianna when they were alone in the bedroom, on Brianna's bed, each lying on a pillow, on their backs, staring at the ceiling while the radio playing some RnB classics music in the background.

"Don't know much about the crowd noise, but I heard your heart beating really loud when he blew that kiss to you." Brianna said.

"Really!" Chloe said turning her head to face Brianna.

"Yeah." Brianna said turning her head to face Chloe.

"Then you must have some hearing problems, because it's over between us. My heart has stopped beating for him, a while back" Chloe assured Brianna, then got up from her lying down position, to sit up on the bed, still facing her.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that tonight at the party when he shows up." Brianna said with a slightly doubtful look on her face as she supported her weight on her elbows while lifting herself up from the bed, in the lying down position she was in.

"His not going to be there tonight. Come on, let's get dressed for the party." Chloe suggested to Brianna climbing out of the bed.

"Let's." Brianna agreed.

Jason had gone home after playing basketball and had a nap, a shower, a sandwich, checked up on his dad, found some decent clothes to wear, just in case Tye wanted to crush the party, then returned to Tye's house at around 7:30 pm. When he got there, and to no surprise at all, Tye informed him that the ladies where still getting ready for the party.

So, he and Tye would have to wait for them as usual.

The two decided to sit on the couch and have some beer and crisps accompanied by watching some basketball highlights, on cable.

After just a few minutes of viewing pleasure, Paige walked in from the kitchen and sat between them on the three sitter couch and changed the channel, to put on some talk show they were forced to watch with her, because she insisted, in a sweet way, and told them that they would learn something from it.

The topic which was _'What modern women want from a modern man'_.

For the party, Brianna choose to wear a pair of blue low raise jeans, a sequenced purple tube top with a mini blue matching jeans jacket.

She wore her outfit with the silver strap heels her mother had bought for her and she also wore the silver earrings with the matching necklace too.

Her make-up was minimal, with a neutral colour lip gloss.

Chloe helped her tie her hair up in a high ponytail and left two locks of hair falling in the front of her face to complete her party look.

Chloe on the other hand choose, to wear a white low raised pair of jeans with a short sleeve white mini crop top that exposed her belly ring.

She wore a white and gold belt with her jeans with white lace up casual sneaker and gold custom round earrings, for accessories. For make-up she gave herself slight smoky eyes, nude colour lip gloss and for her hair, she made a parting in the middle and let it flow straight and lose around her face.

When the girls were done, they went downstairs into the lounge area to meet up with Tye and Jason.

"You going dressed like that?" Jason asked his sister when he saw her.

"Come on Jason, we're past that stage." Chloe said to him.

"If I had a flat tummy like that I would also show it off on a beautiful summer night like the one we having." Paige said trying to break off a sibling dispute before it began.

"Mama! Don't interfere in their business, Jason's just telling it like it is." Tye interrupted his mom.

"What's wrong with what she's wearing Jason?" Paige put Jason on the spot.

"She's showing too much skin for a party" Jason said.

"Yeah, but I won't be as bad as the rest of the girls at that party tonight, trust me." Chloe said.

"Alright, I'm just not going to say anything." Jason said.

"Oh come on, these girls just want to have a good time tonight, so let them wear whatever they want, they deserve it after making all of us proud today." Paige said.

"You're right Ms. Johnson." Jason agreed and Tye looked at Chloe and shook his head.

"We better get going then, I don't want to miss out on anything." Chloe said excited.

Everyone moved from the lounge to the small entrance hall of the house. Brianna and Chloe kissed Paige on each cheek simultaneously and said goodnight to her, then held hands and walked outside to the car.

"Bye mama." Tye planted a kiss on his mom's cheek.

"Bye, take in easy on those girls." Paige said to him.

"We will." Tye replied.

"Goodnight Ms. Johnson." Jason said.

"Goodnight Jason." Paige replied back with a smile.

"Listen Mama, if you need me, my phone will be on all night, okay, and go to bed, don't wait up coz we just a few blocks away, lock all the doors and don't open for anyone coz we each got a keys." Tye said to his mom at the door.

"Okay, okay, I got you, now go." Paige sent him off.

"HAVE FUN Y'ALL." Paige said to them and then closed and locked the front door.

Although the party was a few blocks away, Tye drove the car to the party anyway.

When they arrived at the party they saw people and cars everywhere on the street by the house where the party was happening.

Once they found a parking spot everyone got out.

"You girls go ahead and we'll catch up with y'all later." Tye said to Chloe and Brianna.

"Okay." they both answered and walked off.

Chloe and Brianna made their way inside the house, holding hands, when they got to the inside they heard the loud music that was playing, there was a large crowd gathered inside, it felt humid and unbearable.

So, they decide to go outside on the front lawn where another large crowd gathered there too, but at least it was in the open air.

Jason and Tye stood outside leaning against their car watching people coming in and out of the party for a while, trying to pick up on the vibe.

"What you do think man?" Tye asked Jason.

"About what?" Jason asked.

"The party, do you think we should go in? I don't see any of our fellas here." Tye asked.

"We here, and I don't mind. I mean we have nothing planned for tonight anyway and we can get free drinks." Jason said shrugging his shoulders.

But deep inside, he knew the real reason he didn't mind staying at that party was because Brianna was there and she looked really pretty that night, and he didn't want some guy at the party to make a move on her without him knowing who it was.

"Let's go in and get some drinks then." Tye said to Jason.

"Let's go." Jason followed him.

Brianna and Chloe found a spot outside where they had some space to dance, after a little while Chloe felt like getting something to drink, so she and Brianna went back inside the house, where they passed through the large crowd that danced along to the song 'Sensual Seduction' by Snoop Doug, they too danced along until they reached the drinks counter where the kitchen was.

"WHAT ARE YOU HAVING." Chloe yelled in Brianna's ear over the music.

"PUNCH." Brianna said pointing at the punch in front of them on the kitchen counter.

"NO, DON'T DRINK THAT, YOU ONLY DRINK SEALED STUFF." Chloe said preventing Brianna from reaching for a cup.

"WHY?" Brianna asked.

"I'LL TELL YOU OUTSIDE, HERE TAKE THIS." Chloe said handing a bottle of cider to her.

Once they both had a drink in their hand they moved back outside and opened their bottles of cider.

"To the end of high school years and to the beginning of the rest of our lives, cheers." Chloe said raising her bottle.

"Cheers." Brianna toasted with hers and they each took a sip of their ciders.

"So what was it that you said you were going to tell me, about that punch? Why shouldn't I drink it?" Brianna asked Chloe while they danced.

"My Ex, once told me that at parties around here where lots of girls like us come and boys like them wanna get lucky, they always put an extra ingredient in the punch, if you know what I mean." Chloe said to Brianna.

"Oh." Brianna said understanding exactly what Chloe was referring to and then the DJ remixed to the song 'Smack that' by Akon ft. Eminem, that was one of Chloe's favorite songs, so she grasped Brianna by the hand and they both moved closer to the dancing crowd to join in and jam to the tune.

Jason and Tye, who decided to join the party, stood outside on the back elevated porch of the house watching over the crowd and the girls having fun while sipping on some beer, enjoying the music that was playing.

"Tye Johnson?" a female voice called out his name and he turned to see who it was.

"Lucinda?" Tye said surprised to see her at the party.

Lucinda was one of Tye's girlfriends from high school and out of all the girls he had ever been with, she was the one that he liked the most and was dumped by her too.

Lucinda finished high school around the same time as Tye and Jason did and moved out of West Side a few months ago with some white guy she meet at a grocery store on the North Side of Chicago, where she once worked.

The man she dated, apparently had rich parents, that never approved of their interracial relationship, they said she was 'too ghetto' for him and when he didn't stand up her during decision time, she ended the relationship and moved back to her mother's house back on the inner West Garfield Park.

"In the flesh, hey Jason." Lucinda said.

"Hey." Jason waved at her with a gentle smile.

Lucinda was a beautiful young African American lady, who had a pretty smile and an appealing body.

She was slightly voluptuous and had an hourglass figure with all the right curves, in all the right places.

For the party that night, she wore a floral flare sleeve crop top with shorts and some open platform heels, she had her hair braided into comb rows and wore minimal make-up.

She looked eye-catching and Tye couldn't help but stare at her.

"What you doing here? I thought you left west side for good, to get married to some rich white guy." Tye said.

"It didn't work out between us, plus that white boy had some serious issues. No offense Jason." Lucinda said.

"None taken." Jason replied.

"So, you back at your mama's house?" Tye asked.

"Yeah for some time." Lucinda replied, and Tye stared at her, smiling at that thought of having her back in the neighborhood.

The DJ turned the mix table backwards, "Let's turn up the heat a little bit!" he said over the speaker then began to play the track 'Temperature' by Sean Paul to hit up the party and Lucinda felt like dancing.

"Dance with me." Lucinda invited Tye to dance with her and he accepted her invitation straight away.

"This party ain't so bad after all." Tye said to Jason as he handed him his bottle of beer to hold while he walked down to the dance area where he stood behind Lucinda and the two began to grind to the song as it played.

Jason remained standing on the porch watching the girls having fun.

Brianna and Chloe were still enjoying dancing together until Tyrel unexpectedly came from behind and placed his hands around Chloe's hips and tried to grind with her, Chloe removed his hands from her hips and stopped dancing.

She moved aside and stood next to Brianna to face him.

"What do you think you doing? Tyrel!" Chloe asked him, feeling slightly annoyed from him having to spoil her fun.

"I just came here to dance with you." Tyrel said licking his lips.

Tyrel Phillips was a good-looking 18 year old African American boy.

He was tall, had a strong jaw and had bright pink lips that drove Chloe crazy every time he licked them in front of her.

For the party Tyrel wore a white baggy printed t-shirt, a pair of blue baggy jeans, the latest Jordan sneakers, a cap and a thick silver chain necklace with a matching thick bracelet on one wrist and an expensive shiny big faced watch on the other, he also had stud earrings on each ear and smelled fresh at all times.

"I don't want to dance with you." Chloe dismissed him, and moved away from the dance area with Brianna, then noticed Tyrel follow them. "What do you want, now?" Chloe asked Tyrel when she and Brianna finally moved away from the crowned dance area.

"I wanna talk to you." Tyrel said.

"We don't have anything to talk about." Chloe said to him.

"I just want you to hear me out alright." Tyrel said.

"Okay, then talk." Chloe said to him, folding her arms in front of her.

"Not here in front of your girl, I wanna talk somewhere else." Tyrel said.

Chloe shook her head and rolled her eyes at him, while Tyrel stood staring at her waiting for an answer or at least waiting on her to decide on whether or not she was going to go out and talk to him.

"Go and talk to him." Brianna said to Chloe after a few seconds passed.

Chloe exhaled heavily and then made up her mind.

"I'll be right back, okay." Chloe said to Brianna.

"5 minutes, Tyrel, that's all I'm giving you." Chloe said to him and walked past him and they both disappeared into the crowd, making their way to the outside of the house.

When reached the outside he showed her the way to a car he was driving, he had the keys to a suited up 2010 Chrysler CTS with silver mags and alloy wheels.

He unlocked the car with a press on a button and opened the front passenger door so she could get in, then he shut the door after her and walked around the front of the car and got in the driver's seat.

Jason was distracted and didn't see his sister walk out the party, when he looked back up, he noticed Brianna standing alone watching Tye and Lucinda dancing and decided to join her.

"Hey." Jason said when he reached Brianna.

"Hey." Brianna said pleased to see him.

"Where's Chloe?" Jason asked.

"She'll be back." Brianna said.

"Enjoying the party?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen you dance tonight." Brianna said.

"Then dance with me." Jason proposed to her.

Brianna felt a little shy at first, but then accepted his proposal.

"Okay." Brianna said and they both left their empty drinks behind, moved on to the floor, where they danced together.

Jason kept a little distance apart while they danced though, just in case Tye was watching.

They danced for through a couple of songs until Tye interrupted them to have exchange few words in Jason's ears, so Brianna couldn't listen to what they were saying to each other.

Brianna watched as Jason removed the car keys and gave it to Tye.

Later Tye then told Jason and Brianna to enjoy the rest of the party and he left taking Lucinda with him.

"Where is he going?" Brianna asked Jason, curiously.

"They just catching up with each other." Jason said. "Let's enjoy the rest of party while we still can." Jason suggested and they continued dancing.

 **Chapter Five**

 _Back at the car._

"So what do you want to talk about?" Chloe asked, when she and Tyrel were finally alone in the car with the doors shut.

"Us." He replied.

"It's over between us, and it's been like that since that day I caught you with that girl at your house!" Chloe said.

"Tut, come on Chloe you still upset about that! I told you, you're my girl and nothing happen." Tyrel told her.

"Your girl! Please Tyrel you didn't think of me when you had sex with that bitch at your house, in your bedroom, in the same bed you had sex with me!" Chloe said looking straight at him.

"I told you a number of times that I didn't fuck that girl, she just happened to be sucking my dick when you walked in! After you left I told her to get the fuck out of my house." Tyrel said her.

"Sucking or fucking, it's all the same thing! You cheated on me." Chloe said to him.

"Ah, man." Tyrel rubbed his forehead with his hand, while Chloe rubbed her hands up and down her jeans as they seat reflecting in the car for a few moments, in silence.

Chloe sighed then said "look I have to back to the party, Bri is probably waiting for me." she reached for the door handle of the car.

"Wait, hold up." Tyrel said placing his hand on her lower arms before she got out. "I'm sorry, alright, I'm really am, I messed up and you caught me, but I've learnt from my mistake." Tyrel apologized to her once more just like he had over the past few weeks before graduation.

"Okay." Chloe shrugged her shoulders whilst still holding the car door open, getting ready to leave.

"I got something for you, a present. Shut the door." Tyrel said to Chloe, she wanted to snap back at him, but decided against it and instead shut the car door.

Tyrel reached for the clove box of the car and took out a pink box and handed it to her.

"Open it." He said, licking his lips in anticipation.

Chloe opened the box and inside it she found a golden necklace with her name on it, on the letter 'C' there where little accent diamonds stones covering the letter.

"It's beautiful. Thank you" she said appreciating the gift.

"Let me put it on for you, real quick." Tyrel offered.

Chloe gave him the box, brushed her long straighten hair to one side, turned her back towards him, giving him access to her neck.

Tyrel placed the necklace around her neck and brushed his index finger gently down her spine, once he closed the clasp.

Chloe's body responded instantly to his touch and Tyrel noticed it, when he saw her arching her body slightly in a desirable way and in, the in the same direction in which his finger had brushed on her.

Chloe got a grip of herself and went back to her initial sitting position, facing the front.

She brought down the sun shade mirror and looked at the necklace around her neck and she liked what she saw.

And after a moment she asked Tyrel.

"So whose car is this?"

"Uncle John's."

"Stolen?"

"As far as I know, no."

"It's nice." she said touching the desk board as Tyrel keep his eyes steadily on her.

"I've got another present for you tonight." Tyrel said to her.

"Where is it?"

"At my place." He said.

"Really. And would that be you?"

"You don't have to come in with me, I'll go in and get it, and since this car is nice like you said, we can just go for a ride and then I'll bring you back."

"We won't be long?" she asked,

"From my place till here, probably 15 minutes max."

"Okay, not longer, let me text Bri and tell her how long I'll be."

Chloe took out her blackberry from her small white purse and sent a text to Brianna to let her know where she was going.

"Okay, let's go." she told Tyrel once she pushed the send button.

Brianna had her blackberry in her jeans pocket and felt it vibrate.

She decided not to bring a purse to the party and use the pockets available to her to keep her cellphone, lip gloss and gum at hand.

*Going to be another 15 mins, sorry*

Brianna replied back, with an *ok*

"Is that Chloe?" Jason asked.

"She said she'll be here in 15 minutes." Brianna informed him.

"Let's carry on having fun then, before she gets here" Jason said and they continued dancing.

Tyrel Parked on the driveway of his home and switched the engine off.

"You sure you wanna stay in the car?" he asked Chloe.

"You said I didn't have come in remember."

"Just asking. Don't wanna leave you out here by yourself, it can be dangerous."

Chloe looked at Tyrel with a raised brow, thought for a second about sitting in the car all by herself in a neighborhood where she herself knew anything could happen at any moment, due to there always being eyes following everyone around, waiting for a perfect moment to either steal, rob, rape or hi-jack someone. Eventually, Chloe decided it was safer for her to go inside with Tyrel.

So, she got out the car and followed him.

Tyrel's mom was asleep in her bedroom at the end of the corridor when they got inside the house.

Tyrel's house had three bedrooms which shared the same corridor. Walking in from, the front door you saw the lounge and the wooden stand, on the left was the dining area which had a plain table with 6 chairs and past the dining area was the open plan kitchen, past the kitchen door was small front lawn, on the right was the sitting area and straight ahead was the corridor with the bedrooms.

"Tyrel is that you, baby." his mother asked when she heard someone come in the house from her open bedroom door.

"Yeah mama it's me, go back to sleep."

"Why you home so earlier, wasn't the party any good."

"I just came to get something in my bedroom, goodnight now."

"Goodnight."

Tyrel showed Chloe to his room, which was the first one on the right side of the house, once they were in, he shut the door. Chloe felt awkward at first being back in his room and she didn't feel like standing, so she decided to take a sit on the edge his bed.

"So where's the big present you wanted to give me?" She asked Tyrel

Tyrel walked to his closet, removed a big box and then handed it to her.

Chloe opened the box and found a pair of black sexy Louis Vuitton stilettos.

She checked the back and verified that the sole was red, and it was, she tried them on and they fitted her feet perfectly.

"You for real! Where did you buy these?"

"I got connections. It's the one you showed me in that magazine once, right."

"Yeah, you know I'm not even going to ask who those connections are that you just said. I love them, thanks." she said walking around in her new heels.

"I'm glad you do. Can I get a hug?"

Chloe hesitated a little, but then walked towards him and gave him a quick hug for being so thoughtful of the gift.

She then moved back, seat on the bed, removed the shoes and put them back in the box, then wore her sneakers again while Tyrel watched.

"We should make a move." she suggested to him.

"Before we go back. What's gonna happen between us after tonight?"

"We can be friends." She said.

"Friends, huh." Tyrel licked his lips and locked his hands behind his neck and back.

"What. You think your gifts tonight changed my mind about us?"

"That's what I was hopin' for!"

"Then you can take them back!" Chloe said throwing the shoe box on the bed and began to remove the necklace.

"C'mon don't do that!" Tyrel put his hand on her elbow to stop her from removing the necklace.

"Look Chloe. Shit, I'm tired of fighting for one night, if you don't want me no more it's alright, but we gonna have to end this my way."

"And what way is that?" she enquired.

"We gonna have to fuck each other good for the last time, for old time sake."

"You're out of your fucking mind!" Chloe said and tried opening the door, when Tyrel moved in front of her and pressed her against the wall profoundly with both hands were on either side of her shoulders.

She stood breathing rapidly in front of him and stared at his lips and eyes simultaneously.

Besides feeling trapped she also felt slightly aroused by Tyrel's manly intimidation.

"Ty please, let me go." Chloe plead to him softly.

"That's not what you want." Tyrel said holding his ground.

He leaned forward and placed his lips on Chloe's mouth and she responded willing by kissed him without a fight.

She allowed him to lead her to his bed and position himself between her legs.

They kissed each other fervently and shifted together on the bed until reached the head rest.

Chloe rested her head down on one of the pillows, as they continued kissing, in heated a yearning passion, since they had both missed each other and had been away from each for a few weeks.

Tyrel paused for moment to remove his shoes, socks, t-shirt as well as the chain around his neck and the other jewelry he wore that night.

He removed his baggy jeans and put them on the floor but left boxers on.

He climbed back into bed and removed Chloe's shoes, one foot at a time and then he put both his hands on each side of her hips and brought her pants down, revealing her black thong.

He placed himself between her legs once more and began to kiss her, introducing his tongue to her, and she responded in the same manner.

Whilst they kissed, he Tyrel cupped and gently squeezed her breasts, while rubbing his erection on her crotch.

Next he moved one of his hands down the side of her body, grasped her buttocks and moved on to caress her outer thighs. Tyrel kneeled between Chloe's legs and removed her black thong.

"You ready?" he asked her whilst he highly aroused.

"Yeah, but I want us to still use protection." She ssid

"You don't trust me?"

"Let's not start up anything now, let's just do it my way."

Tyrel listened to her and retrieved a condom from the draw next to his bed.

He handed the condom over to Chloe then removed his boxes, revealing his youthful erection.

"You put it on, just so you sure."

Chloe teared the condom packet open, removed the condom and reached for him, he then moved her back onto the bed in a laying down position, parting her legs once more and kissing her again. He eased himself into her and began to gentle thrust into her slowly and soon began to move a little faster, causing Chloe to let out a slightly load pleasurable mourn.

"Shh, you don't wanna wake my mama up."

"Sorry." Chloe said with a breathless tone.

"You still wanna go back to the party?" Tyrel asked Chloe.

"Shut up and kiss me." Chloe said and Tyrel reached for her lips and they continued with their easily roused passionate sex.

The night seemed to have turned out better on Tye side too.

He and Lucinda drove to her house, where no one was home. Lucinda opened the door of the house and shut it behind her after they both got in and Tye didn't waste any time with her when he began kissing her from the front door right up to her bedroom.

They both got undressed, got into her bed and finished the night, lighting up and bringing back the flame that blew out between them long ago.

 **Chapter Six**

Brianna and Jason where still at the party dancing the night away, enjoying each other's company.

At one point, during the dance, Brianna couldn't believe that the guy she was having the greatest time with that night was actually, Jason, who had some great dance moves too.

And from time to time while, they danced to a song, he would move closer to her and challenge her to show him her best moves, which she responded joyfully every time.

Brianna had forgotten about Chloe and Tye, soon enough, who had left the party all together and decided to make the best of that night, until a broken bottle was heard nearby were Jason and were dancing.

"I think this party's about to be over, come on let's get out of here." Jason said and reached for her hand.

Brianna held Jason's hand firmly and they began to make their way out of the party, she soon picked up that a fight was about to start when she caught a glimpse of two guys who were drunk, and were about to fight over a girl they wanted to dance with, the fight became far more dangerous when one of them took out a pocket knife and began to threaten the other with a gathering crowd surrounding them, watching out for the action taking place, with each of the guys had their own group of fellas watching over them.

When Brianna and Jason reached the inside crowd, no one was aware of the fight that was about to go down outside yet, everyone was still dancing and some even began stripping down to Nelly's song 'Hot In Herre'.

While the song played, Brianna's eyes moved all across the room as she watched some girls dancing without a care in the world, of who was looking at them while they stripped.

She felt Jason gradually tighten his grip around her hand, not wanting to loss her in the crowd, while they walked past.

When they finally reached the outside, the two walked a few paces away from the house, still holding hands.

Brianna felt Jason's warm and soft hands and didn't want to let go of it, but when they were at a safe distance Jason released his hand from hers and she felt quite disappointed inside, but didn't want to show it.

"Well, that's the party over." He exhaled deeply, placing his hands in his jeans side pockets. "I'll walk you home, okay."

"Okay." Brianna said letting out a slightly disappointed sigh, with a glimpse of a smile, before they began their few blocks walk to the house quietly.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight, for the part that lasted?" Jason asked to spark some sort of conversation between them.

"I did, especially when it came down to finding out that you had great dance moves." Brianna teased.

"You think so? Well thanks; you're not so bad yourself."

"Oh really now, Jason" Brianna questioned him playfully.

"I'm just kidding; you're good, really good."

"Thanks."

"So, now that graduation's over, what do you plan on doing for the next few weeks or maybe years?" he asked.

"I wanna get a job first, then save up some money and go back to studying."

"Accounting?" Jason said.

"Yeah, if possible."

"And have you been looking for any jobs yet?"

"To be honest I haven't really been looking at the paper coz I just wanted to get this whole graduation out the way, and then focus all my time and energy on getting a job."

"Well you going to have lots of time to do that since Chloe's leaving for a whole two weeks."

"Yeah, I'm really going to miss her." she sighed "It's going to be so quite without her around, and with me not having to go over and spend some time with cousins too, but I'll survive."

"You know it doesn't really have to be that quite as you say."

"What you mean by that?"

"Look, what I'm trying to say is, maybe you should go out and catch up with some movies or go to a concert while you still free and have some fun time on your own, I mean there's a lot to do in Chicago during summer."

"That's a good idea, but going alone, it's quite boring."

"How about you and me set up sometime during these two weeks and do somethings together, some nights."

"That would be nice, but I'm sure you and Tye have got better things to do together."

"You make it sound as if were married."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I think after tonight, Tye and I won't be seeing each other very much, maybe at basketball, who knows."

"Because of Lucinda."

"Yep."

"I guess you know him too well. You know what, we should hang out together coz it will be like hanging around with my other brother, you know."

"Other brother?" Jason gave her a side bemused look.

"Tye calls you his brother all the time right, so that would make you my brother too." Brianna said in a humorous way.

"Oh, yeah of course." Jason smiled walking forward.

Jason and Brianna reached the house and they both walked to the front steps that led to the porch.

"Delivered, safe and sound" Jason said to her.

"Thanks Jason. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Brianna said to him.

"Sure."

"Goodnight." Brianna said.

"Oh, before I forget. I got you something, something small, just for today's occasion." Jason said reaching down to his jeans pocket.

He took out a small and square blue box and handed it to Brianna.

Brianna received the box and felt Jason's fingers brushed against her hand while she took the box from him, she opened the box and found a beautiful silver sterling graduate bracelet which was made of Swarovski crystals and had sterling purple beads on it as well as a graduation cap charm attached, Brianna liked it and smiled.

"Wow Jason, it's beautiful, thank you."

"I'll glad you like it, sister."

"Sister." Brianna said letting out a light giggle.

"Here let me put it on for you."

"Thank you, it's my favorite colour too." Brianna said and gave Jason a friendly hug once he was done putting the bracelet around her wrist.

"You should probably get inside." Jason said after they hugged swiftly.

"Let me know when your home safe, okay."

"I will, now go inside." He told her once more.

Brianna smiled at him again, before she turned and walked up to the steps onto the porch, she took the keys out of her pocket, opened the front door, waved goodbye to Jason with a gentle bright smile and then shut the door and locked it.

Once save inside, Jason turned and made his way home and this time around he began walking at a faster pace.

He made it past a block and then heard a car pull up next to him driving slowly, the windows were tinted black, so he couldn't really see anything or anyone, so he pretended to have not seen anything and carried on walking ignoring the car.

"Hey you, put your fucking hands where I can see 'em!" a deep male African American voice called out him.

"Alright man, alright." Jason said apprehensively, then he stopped walking and put hand up in the air.

"Now turn around so I see your face!" the voice instructed him.

When Jason turned around, he saw the familiar face of his basketball team mate Bowie, Bowie was in the back passenger seat of the white car with the window down, laughing out loud at the prank he and his friends had just pulled on Jason.

"Bowie! What the fuck man!" Jason said running his fingers through his thick brown medium length hair, trying to calm himself down from the fright he had just gotten.

"You got to admit though, that was good." Bowie got out of the car laughing hysterically to greet Jason.

"You almost had me wetting my pants man, shit." Jason said relieved with a smile.

"Where you headed anyway, at this time of night?"

"Home."

"Where you're set of wheels at?"

"Tye's got 'em."

"Come on, we'll drop you off, you takin a chance walkin' out here this late." Bowie said offering Jason a lift which he gladly accepted.

*Party ended in a fight. Jason walked me home, see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams*

Chloe received a text message from Brianna just so she was aware of what was happening.

Chloe was lying in bed with Tyrel after they had finished having hot steaming sex and were recovering from it, she heard her mobile phone vibrate and she got out of bed to remove it from her purse to read the text from Brianna; she pressed the reply button and responded to Brianna's text.

"Typical way of ending a party." Chloe thought out loud.

"What happened." Tyrel asked her while getting out the bed too.

"Apparently there was a fight at the party tonight, so Bri had to go home."

"So this means you don't have to go back there again, right?" Tyrel said.

"I guess there's no use in going back there, take me home, please?"

"Stay here tonight" Tyrel said putting his boxes back on.

"That's what you want, huh?"

"Yeah, that's what I want, to make up for lost time" Tyrel said standing in front of her, staring straight down and caressing her face.

"I'll stay tonight, but I need a shirt" Chloe said looking up at him.

"I got you covered" he said and gave her a smooch.

Brianna received two texts while she was getting ready for bed; she read them and replied back to Jason's text after she got into bed, under the covers.

*Got home safe, goodnight*.

Jason's text.

Chloe's text.

*Thanks for letting me know, sweet dreams.*

▷You were quick, did you run home?*

Reply to Jason.

No, I was pranked and then given a lift home by some fellas, goodnight sister ;)

▷Good night Jason.

Brianna giggled silently at Jason still calling her sister and she spent the rest of the night looking at the bracelet she got for him as a graduation gift and couldn't stop think about how soft his hands were when they held both their hands together while they walked through the party, hand in hand, and how they felt when he put the bracelet around her wrist, she fell asleep moments after dreaming about him.

Jason laid in his bed with his sleeping shorts and no shirt on, in deep thoughts of Brianna too; the word _'other brother'_ kept coming across his mind making him think hard on how he taught she felt about him.

Deep inside he felt sure that Brianna had some form of feelings towards him, like he had towards her, but he never thought that they would be brotherly feelings, ' _Perhaps I'm overthinking everything or, am I not, I guess I just need to see what the next two weeks will be like, with Bri'_ he thought to himself, he then reached for the side light and turned it off and went straight to sleep, feeling glad that he'd see her again the next day.

Tye was woken up by Lucinda in the early hours of the morning.

"What's going on?" Tye said trying to open his eyes.

"You need to go." Lucinda said to him.

"What, why?"

"My mama's coming home from a church retreat, she'll be here any minute from now and if she catches you here, she's goin' to be mad at me, as hell, especially when my little sisters are coming too, you need to go now." Lucinda helped him get out of her bed and get dressed.

"Alright, will we at least see each other again?" Tye said while getting dressed.

"If you wanna." She flirted with him.

"Alright, I got your digits, I'll call you."

"Okay" She walked him out.

Tye gave Lucinda a smooch and left the house, when he got into his car the clock struck 05:30am on Sunday.

He drove home, parked the car, got into the house, locked the door behind and crashed on the couch, feeling too tired to go upstairs to his bed.

Brianna and her Paige were up and ready to go to church at 08:30am that Sunday morning.

They had their breakfast in the kitchen since they didn't want to wake Tye up.

Mrs. Watson, who was one of the ushers at church they attended, always drove past on a Sunday to pick up Brianna and Paige for the church services, when she arrived, she hooted and they made their way to the car, leaving Tye sound asleep on the couch.

Tye woke up when he heard someone knocking at the front door of the house, two hours later. He got up and walked to open the door and let Jason in.

"What's happening man?" Jason said when he saw Tye still looking sleepy.

"Had a late night and an early morning man."

"A good night though, right?"

"Yeah, how was the rest of the night for you though?"

"A fight broke out at the party and then I walked your sister home, then I got pranked on my way home by Bowie and some guys he was with, and that's how the rest of my night went."

"I hope you didn't mind me bailing out on you though last night"

"Not at all. You seeing her again?"

"Hell yeah. She couldn't get enough of me. I'm gonna give her a call later."

"So you keeping baby tonight?"

"Yeah, I wanna take Lucinda somewhere nice, you know."

"Yeah I know, you want to recandle your love for each other, blah, blah. Should we go for practice, the other guys are probably waiting on the court."

"I'll just grab something to eat, brush my teeth wash my face and then we'll bounce."

"Okay, I'll wait for you." Jason said taking a seat on the couch and putting the TV on.

"I'll be done in 15." Tye said back to Jason when he headed to the kitchen to have something to eat.

Chloe was dropped at home around 11:30 am, after she had breakfast with Tyrel and his mom Ms. Sherries Phillips, who surprisingly liked her.

"So I guess I'll see you in two weeks."

"Two weeks. Please don't mess up while I'm away, coz if you do, you know I'll find out , since it only takes a trip down to a salon or nearby takes out to find out about everything that happening in this neighborhood, right."

"I know, don't worry, I won't mess up. Now come here."

Chloe leaned over to Tyrel and they had a quick make out session in the car for a few minutes until they both had enough.

"Here." Tyrel reached for his pocket and gave Chloe $800.

"What's that for?" she asked him.

"Just so you can get something for you or your aunt while in San Francisco."

"Thanks, and remember what I said Tyrel, no messing around while I'm gone."

"I won't." he assured her.

Chloe gave him a long smooch, then got out the car and waved goodbye to him before she headed up her three bedroom apartment.

"Good morning." Mike greeted her when she entered the apartment dressed in last night's clothes and holding her shoe box under her arm.

"Oh, good morning dad."

"How was the party last night?"

"It was good. Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yeah, with Jason."

"Okay, I'm going to my bedroom, Bri will come by later, if she knocks, can you please let her in."

"Sure."

"Thanks dad." she said giving him a kiss on the cheek and then moved on to her bedroom.

Brianna and her mom's church service ended at 13:00pm, but she and her mom only left church at 13:30pm because Mrs. Watson still wanted to chat and have tea and biscuits after the service had ended.

Mrs. Watson dropped Brianna off at the Millers apartment block and then dropped her Paige off at home.

Brianna made her way up to the third floor and knocked on the door, Mike opened the door and let her in; she greeted him politely and turned and looked at Chloe as she was getting out the bathroom door when Brianna got in, still having a towel wrapped around her body and head.

"Bri, you're here!" she said happy to see her, she walked towards her and whisked her away from the door entrance and into her bedroom down the passage.

Mike let the girls carry on, since he was used to seeing them go off and into Chloe's bedroom to spend time doing what they loved best, sharing secrets, when the girls were out of site he went back to sitting down in front of the TV and continued watching the poker champions in Las Vegas.

"So how was it with Tyrel last night?" Brianna asked Chloe once they were alone in the bedroom with the door shut and she found herself a comfortable laying down position in Chloe's bed, on her tummy with a pillow underneath her arms and breast.

"Let's just say, I forgave him." Chloe said removing her towel and exposing her bare naked body to Brianna, showing no sign of awkwardness.

"Well that's good right?"

"Yeah. Look what he gave me." Chloe showed Brianna her new pair of shoes and necklace.

"Wow, are those." Brianna said.

"Louis Vuitton's, yes" Chloe said with a big smile on her face.

"There really nice. Can you put on some clothes now?" Brianna said feeling slightly uncomfortable with Chloe's nudity.

"Sorry, I'm so used to you." Chloe said moving on to her white chest of drawers to retrieve a pair of bra and panties and then she walked to her closet to put on a hot pink Baby Phat tracksuit.

"Have you packed for tomorrow yet?" Brianna said searching for suitcase around the room with her eyes.

"I haven't even looked at what I want to take with me. What's that on your wrist?" Chloe asked Brianna when she saw her bracelet.

"It's a gift I got last night."

"Gift from who?" Chloe asked.

"Jason." She replied.

"Wha-at" Chloe said, smiling ear to ear.

"It's not what you thinking, he said it was just an occasional gift."

"You're right!"

Brianna rolled her eyes at Chloe and then there was a knock on the door.

Chloe opened the door and Jason was standing on the opposite side, looking all worked out after basketball practice with his fellas.

"Hey, good to see you back home in one piece." Jason said to his sister.

"Very funny Jason."

"Hi Bri." Jason greeted Brianna with a smile when he saw her lying on her tummy on Chloe's bed.

"Hi Jason." Brianna replied smiling back at him.

"I'm sensing a strong vibe here." Chloe said when she noticed the two smiling at each other.

"I just came to see you; I'm heading to the shower. You ladies carry on with whatever you were doing before I knocked." Jason said trying to avoid reverting back on Chloe's coy comment.

"Okay, Oh and Jason. I really like the bracelet you got for Bri, it's very nice of you to do that." Chloe said to Jason when he was on the passage way, away from Brianna's view and Jason gave her an ' _I'll get you'_ kind of gesture. Chloe giggled a little and then shut the door again.

"Why did you do that for?"

"I like to put Jason in an uncomfortable place sometimes, his face makes me laugh."

"You are something else, let me help you pack" Brianna suggested and Chloe agreed.

They began by taking out some clothes from the closet and setting them in the bed trying to make an outfit for each day, Chloe had way too many clothes for just one person, but yet she still spoke about getting some more while she was away with her Aunt Martha.

While they packed Chloe's cellphone ran and she picked up, it was Aunt Martha calling wanting to find out the flight times for Monday.

Brianna felt thirsty and decided to go to the kitchen and get herself a glass of water, she asked Chloe if she wanted something to drink and she asked for a glass of orange juice and water, it was a habit she has since a child, were whenever she had a glass of juice, she needed to have a glass of water with it. Brianna left the room and made her way to the kitchen which she was quite familiar with from the sleepovers she had in the previous years, she had two full glasses of water unaware of how thirsty she was, she then walked to the fridge, opened the Orange juice box and filled Chloe's glass with it and set on the counter next to the fridge, she closed the lid and put back the juice in the fridge.

When she shut the fridge door she saw Jason walk into the kitchen barefoot and wearing nothing on, besides a grey sweat short with pulling strings untied, he had just walked out of his room after taking a shower and his hair looked roughly towel dried, he wasn't aware that Brianna was in the kitchen until he saw her standing still and staring at him.

Brianna stared at Jason's well defined and toned chest, abs and arms, _' .God, Jason'_ she said slowly in her mind, and in that moment she wanted to walk towards him and touch every inch of his exposed being, she noticed the light chest hairs he had that started from his upper chest and run down the middle of his abs and continued way down past the waistband of his shorts, which hanged gracefully on his hips.

Brianna and Jason stood motionless looking at each other with desirable lusting eyes in the kitchen, each holding back on their eagerness to loss their common sense of personal space.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here." Jason said in a soft gentle tone.

"I um, I just came to get some water and juice" Brianna tried answering back but failed to sound like she wasn't hot and bothered by Jason's semi nakedness.

"I'll go put on a shirt" he said.

"Please don't!" she said almost too quickly "I'm just getting some water for Chloe, I'll be out of the kitchen in a sex, I mean, sec." She flashed then turned and walked to the sink to fill a glass up with water.

"It doesn't bother you? Me walking around shirtless." Jason asked her.

"no." Brianna said sounding a bit out of breath while shaking her head when she was by the sink

"Then turn and look at me." Jason said taking a few steps closer to the sink.

When Brianna turned he was standing in front of her, his sweet hazel brown eyes were looking into hers as he moved closer and made the gap between them lesser.

Brianna breathing deepened and Jason noticed the change in her, her eyes focused on his mouth and he could tell that she yearned for his touch.

Brianna was holding a glass of water in her hand until Jason reached for it and placed it back on the kitchen counter behind her, he then took both her hands gently by the wrists and placed them on his chest, making her run them right down his firm abdomen, so she could feel every bit of him.

"You like that?" he asked gazing at her.

"yes." she replied with bated breath.

Jason then moved his hands up to each side of her face, placing and rubbing each of his thumbs on her cheeks, he leaned slightly forward and placed his lips on Brianna's, giving her an impassioned kiss.

A kiss she had yearned for so long and returned it with immense delight. As they kissed Jason reached for her buttocks and lifted her up, her legs wrapped themselves around his hips and her arms around his neck for support as they continued making out, and after a while the ceiling above them began to leak and Brianna felt her hands her getting wet and dripping with water.

 **Chapter Seven**

"Brianna, Brianna." Jason snapped her out of her daydream while the tap ran in the sink, wetting her hands.

"Jason." she said his name, coming back to reality.

"You got enough water there?" He asked, closing the tap.

"You're wearing a shirt." Brianna said to him, when she noticed.

"Yeah, I went back to my room to get one when you walked back to fetch a glass of water. Are you okay?" Jason asked concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." she took the glass of water and walked past Jason feeling a little disconcerted about her recent thoughts about him.

On her way out the kitchen she reached for the glass of orange juice and vanished into the passage way, leaving Jason befuddled by the way she had just reacted towards him.

When Brianna got into Chloe's bedroom, Chloe noticed the disturbed look on her face.

"Yes Aunt Martha I will, okay, see you tomorrow, love you too" Then Chloe hung up. "Bri, are you okay?"

"Here's your juice and water." She placed both glasses on the pedestals close to Chloe.

"Thanks, you look like somethings bothering you." Chloe drank the glass of juice first.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, maybe you could tell me." Chloe said curiously finishing off the juice.

"I don't have anything to tell, let's just get this packing done."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"Coz, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. You want pizza?"

"Sure."

"I'll go and ask Jason to take us to that pizza place he and my dad always go to." Chloe took down the full glass of water.

"Jason's in the kitchen." Brianna let her know.

"Oh, okay." Chloe said.

"His probably making a sandwich to eat in the kitchen you know." Brianna said before Chloe said something else.

"Let me go stop him, then" Chloe said running out of her room.

Brianna was spot on; Jason had all the ingredients laid out in the kitchen counter and was getting ready to start making himself a sandwich when Chloe walked in.

"Stop whatever you doing." Chloe said to him.

"May I ask why?"

"Brianna and I want some pizza."

"Order out."

"We want you to take us to that pizza place you and dad like so much."

"Now?"

"Please, I'll pay." Chloe said to him.

"With what money?"

"I've got some."

"Tyrel gave it to you?"

"Maybe."

"Keep your money. I'm not going to allow you to pay for lunch, especially knowing where that sort of money comes from."

"You really don't like him, hey?"

"I just don't agreed with what he does, but who knows, maybe now that his done with school, perhaps he might get a good job, give up on selling pot and straighten up, but nah I don't think that's ever going to happen."

"Deep inside his a good guy, trust me."

"Whatever you say sis." Jason let out a light sigh, "get your staff ready, I'll go and ask dad if he wants to come with us."

"Okey- docky, thanks Jason." Chloe said and Jason put back the staff he had laid out to make a sandwich.

Jason asked Mike if he wanted to come with them and Mike told him to bring him back something to eat and gave Jason permission to take his car.

Brianna and Chloe soon appeared and they all said goodbye to Mike then made their way to have some late lunch. Jason and the girls drove all the way to W Jackson Blvd to a restaurant called 'Moretti's'.

The waitress who couldn't stop staring and smiling at Jason, showed them to a table and took their drinks order, Jason asked for a beer, Chloe asked for a cider and Brianna asked for a passion fruit juice.

When she got back with their drinks order they placed their pizza order with the waitress.

Chloe and Brianna ordered a large Margarita to share while Jason ordered two house special pizzas, one as a sit side the other as a take-out for his dad, Chloe couldn't help noticing how the young average looking brunette kept trying to get Jason's attention while she took down the order.

"Anything else." She asked directing her question to Jason.

"I guess that's all, unless you ladies want to add something." Jason asked them.

"I just have a question for you Miss. Are you single?" Chloe asked, putting her on the spot.

"Yes, yes I am why do you ask."

"It's quite obvious you're interested in my brother, but just so you know, his gay."

"Oh." The young brunette said disappointed and then walked off to place their orders.

"Did you really have to do that?" Jason asked Chloe.

"What, at least I got her off your back" Chloe said to her brother.

"Gay, really Chloe"

"I have to go to the restroom, Bri do you wanna come?"

"No, I'm fine thanks Chloe."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Chloe left Jason and Brianna at the table and made her way to the restroom. Brianna took a sip of her juice and caught Jason staring at her.

"What?" she asked timidly.

"Have you told Chloe anything about us going out for the next two weeks while she's away?"

"No, I don't think I really want to. Have you told Tye?"

"No, I don't think I really want to either." Jason smiled. "Have you been thinking of what we should do yet?"

"Not really, Chloe's been keeping my mind occupied, I'm helping her pack."

"Oh, coz I was thinking that we should start with something you like first." Jason said.

"I'm back" Chloe announced herself before Brianna could say something else to Jason.

The waitress soon followed with their orders, they eat then paid the bill leaving a tip behind before they left and headed back home.

On the drive back, Chloe seat in the front sit of Mike's car turned up the volume of the radio and sang along to Gwen Stefani's 'Rich girl' song while Jason drove and Brianna seat in the back quietly.

When they reached the apartment Brianna and Chloe went straight to the bedroom again and this time they finished packing a bag for Chloe while Jason delivered his dad's pizza to him and they both relaxed in front of the TV.

At around 8:30pm Tye came passed the apartment so he could give the car back to Jason, Brianna and Chloe hugged each other and said their goodbyes and then Jason drove both Brianna and Tye home and returned to the apartment.

Monday morning came and Brianna woke up at around 9am, the house was quite, really quite. It felt different waking up that morning knowing that it wasn't a school summer holiday morning anymore, it was real life after high school.

She got out of bed and looked at the bracelet Jason gave her and remembered that she still needed to think or at least try to come up with a place where both of them could hang out, because she didn't want to lose out on having a chance to alone with him.

She got out of bed, went downstairs and had her favorite breakfast cereal then went back upstairs, brushed her teeth, had a shower and then walked outside, got the newspaper, turned it to the job section and began searching for jobs she thought would be easy for her to start, most of the jobs were mainly for waitressing which required late night shifts, she knew Tye and Paige would never agree for her working a late shift, especially when living a in a neighborhood like West Garfield Park, where dangerous events happened mostly in the late hours of the night. Brianna hoped to find a job more practical to her working family routine, that way she too could be home the same time as them. She later on put the newspaper away, looked at the kitchen watch, which only struck 10 am.

' _I wonder if Chloe's reached San Francisco yet'_ she thought to herself, next she walked around the bottom section of the house and decided to keep her mind busy and began cleaning, vacuuming, dustings and re-arranging some of the furniture around the house.

It was around 1 pm when Brianna's house phone rang.

"Brianna speaking hello."

"Hi, is that the Johnson's residence I've dialed."

"Hi Chloe."

"Where's your cellphone?" Chloe asked Brianna.

"It's up in my bedroom."

"Well don't get a shock when you see how many missed calls I've added to your phone log because I've been trying to get through to you since I've landed here."

"I'm sorry, I've been cleaning downstairs. How was the flight though?"

"I caught up with some sleep. Why are you cleaning?"

"I'm bored, got nothing to do this morning."

"Didn't you say you were going to do some job hunting this week?"

"I checked the paper today already and found nothing. How's your Aunt Martha doing?"

"She doing good, can't wait to be helping her around the salon, she said she's going to show me some of her best hair secrets and mixers when it comes to hair colouring this time around, so I'm excited about that, at least it will put me ahead of the class, which I'll be attending in a couple of weeks."

"I'm glad to hear that and I'm missing you already."

"Oh me too, I'm actually wearing our necklace today. Listen, I got to go Aunt Martha's calling, I call you, what? Likr tomorrow?"

"I'll call you."

"Sure, bye."

"Bye."

"And enough cleaning for today, okay. Chloe said last.

"Okay, bye." Brianna smiled on the phone as she hang up.

Brianna finished up with the house cleaning and decided to lounge and watch some TV while having a sandwich for lunch, she flicked through some channels then left it on the cooking shows that were airing, she watched a few of the shows up until 4pm when she felt inspired to cook something for Tye and Paige who would be arriving home in 2 hours' time.

Brianna made her way into the kitchen, opened the fridge to see what she could put together for dinner.

Her cooking skills came from when she learned how to cook a few dishes with her mom and since then, from time to time she would test them by cooking meals for the house after school when mother felt too tired coming from work.

Brianna put some ingredients together and the end result of what she cooked for dinner once she was done was, chicken with cubed potatoes and some salad, she also made a basic homemade tomato sauce with basil leafs to go on top of the chicken fillets.

At 6:15 pm her mom came home first and found her setting the table for dinner.

"Wow, what happened here today." Paige asked when she got inside and saw the house spotless.

"Hi mom." Brianna greeted Paige with a kiss on the cheek.

"Mm, what's that wonderful smell?"

"I made dinner. I've had a really quite day today, had to keep my mind busy." Brianna said.

"Well, as it turns out, it worked out quite well for those who will be benefiting from the meal tonight. I'm going to go upstairs and freshen up a little. I'm sure by the time I get back down, your brother should be home for dinner."

"Okay, then I'll finish setting up the table."

Paige went upstairs while Brianna finished setting the table and a few minutes later Tye and Jason walked and found Brianna in the kitchen getting the food ready to set on the table.

"Hey Bri, what's cookin'?" Tye asked her.

"Hi Tye, Hi Jason." Brianna greeted them both.

"Hi." Jason replied.

"I just made some chicken for dinner tonight."

"When can we eat, I'm starving." Tye said looking at the food.

"Just as soon as mom comes down and after I set a plate for Jason on the table, coz I didn't know he was coming in tonight."

"Oh, don't worry about me Bri, I was on my way out anyway, I just came in to get something from Tye."

"I'm sure whatever you came to get can wait till after dinner, can't it?" Brianna said trying to convince Jason to stay.

"The food looks really good, I'm not going to say no."

"Great, you both go, take a seat at the table and I'll be right out." Brianna moved them both out the kitchen.

The fourth plate was set on the table, Paige came down and seat at the table with everyone else, once she had freshened up, they said grace and then served and eat the food, which they all complimented Brianna for how amazing it tasted.

During the course of dinner they spoke about Chloe, on how quite it had already gotten without her around and of how their day at work went.

After dinner, Jason offered to help Brianna clear the dishes, while Tye helped Paige get to bed, because she suddenly said she wasn't feeling too well and had to go to sleep due to a headache.

"Thanks for the dinner tonight." Jason said to Brianna as they picked up the dishes from the table.

"I'm glad you stayed behind for it." Brianna said smiling blissfully at him.

"So—Tye's told me that he's going out with Lucinda tomorrow night, and I was thinking that maybe we too could do something tomorrow night, what do you say?"

"It sound's great to me."

"Is there any place in particular you'd like to go to?"

"How about we go bowling?" Brianna suggested.

"Done. I'll be here around 7pm?"

"I'll be waiting." they moved into the kitchen with the last dishes.

Tye walked into the kitchen and waited till Jason was done helping Brianna and then he called him out into the dining room just outside the kitchen door to give him back the money he'd borrowed from him a few days ago.

Jason then walked back into the kitchen and said goodnight to Brianna and then Tye accompanied him to the door and he left.

Tuesday at actually 7 pm, Jason was at the door of Brianna's house after he had gone home, freshened up and borrowed his father's 2002 silver Toyota Camry for their outing that night. Prior to Jason arriving, Brianna spoke and asked Paige not to mention anything about her outing with Jason to Tye and Paige said she'd keep her mouth sealed.

Paige saw Brianna to the door and told Jason and her have fun. When they got to the car, Jason opened the door for Brianna and they made their way to the bowling alley.

On route to the bowling alley, they two didn't speak much due to sn unexpected phone call from Chloe, who spoke to Brianna for the whole 20 minutes they sat in the car.

Chloe had asked where Brianna she had been going when she heard that she was in a car, and Brianna made up a story to say that she was with Tye and Jason and they were heading out to get some take-outs for the night.

Once the call ended and they got inside the bowling alley and played a fun round out of 20 turns.

"Come on Jason, is that the best you can do." Brianna said when she checked the scores, which were in her favor.

"I'm not good at bowling, okay, I'm really trying." Jason said playfully.

"You're not trying, you being nice, come on, bring it on." Brianna challenged him.

For the next few turns, Jason hit strikes almost one after the other and the scoring table turned in his favor once the game was over.

After the game, both Jason and Brianna decided to sit down at the bowling café area to have some burgers and fries.

"Enjoying your tonight so far?" Jason asked her.

"I am. It's really nice being out of the house and being out here with you."

"Quite busy though with all the schools students being on summer break."

"I'm liking the ambience." Brianna said digging into her fries.

"So, have you done any jobs searching today?"

"I did, but no luck, I'm trying to get a daytime job but so far I've only seen night shifts."

"Don't think about it too much though, you'll get the one you looking for." Jason said to her.

"Most of the jobs on the paper today were mainly for waitressing, which I definitely wouldn't be able to do."

"Why do you say that?"

"Waitressing is just not my thing, I'm not good when it comes to remembering orders and stuff like that."

"I'm sure the first few days are kind of hard but eventually one gets used to it, I mean, every job's like that you know." Jason said to her.

"You're probably right." Brianna said then finished the rest of the food left on her plate while Jason watched her.

"It's getting late, we should probably get going." Jason suggested.

"Okay." she agreed.

Jason dropped Brianna back at home at around 9:30 pm when Tye wasn't at home; he opened the door of the car to let her out and then followed her to the front door of the house.

"Thanks for a fun night, I really enjoyed hanging out." Brianna said to him.

"Well, that's the first successful outing with more to come, which makes me raise a question, where you'd like to go next?"

"I'll have to leave that one up to you, because I choose bowling and now it's your turn to choose our next outing."

"How did we end up taking turns?"

"I just think it's fair if we do it that way, coz I don't want to come up with all the ideas and places you know, maybe you might just want to try out some place, I've never been to and you might just want to show it to me."

"I'll think of something for us to do, but now it's time for you get inside. Goodnight Bri."

"Goodnight Jason." Brianna said and then went inside shutting the door behind her.

The next day Jason choose to go to roller skating, and on Thursday night Brianna choose to go to cinema's then on Friday night, Jason and Tye spent bro time together.

Saturday came both Jason and Brianna agreed to go and take a tour of Chicago city. They first went to Navy Pier, because Brianna wanted to try out the famous Farris Wheel to see the skyline view of the city since, she had never gotten the change to.

Chloe had shown her some pictures once when she went on a date one night with Tyrel, and Brianna wanted to experience it too. Brianna and Jason seat next to each other on the carriage, which began to ascend to the top, Brianna reached for her bag and took out her camera to capture some of the famous skyline in the day.

"It's such a beautiful day to be up here, isn't it?" Brianna said to Jason looking down at thr ground below them and then at the skyline views when they almost reached the highest point.

"Yeah, it is." Jason said sounding a little uneasy.

"Are you okay Jason?" Brianna asked a little concerned about him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Is it just me, or is this carriage swinging way to much?" Jason said.

"It's swinging a little, but I'm sure it's just because we up high." Brianna said taking some pictures of the skyline view.

"High, yeah." Jason sat still.

"Look here." Brianna told Jason, and as he looked at her, she took a picture of him with her camera.

"That's not fair." Jason said with a glace of a smile on his face.

"What, I'm just capturing a moment." Brianna said letting out a cute giggle.

"A moment where I'm showing my embracing fear of heights." Jason confessed, and just then, the carriage paused for a while.

"Why didn't you tell me about your fear of heights before we got on?"

"It's not that bad, really. I've been on a Farris Wheel before, just not as high as this. And coming here, you were really excited to get on and I didn't feel like ruining the day." Jason said to her.

"Oh Jason, but you should have told me, imagine if you had like a panic attack or something."

"I'll be fine, don't worry, it will be over soon." Jason said when the carriage began to descend to the bottom.

"Where should we go now in this big city?" Jason asked Brianna once they stood at a distance from the Farris Wheel.

"Let's walk to the Millennium Park, I wanna go and see it."

"You sure you wanna walk?"

"Yeah, by walking we can really see more of everything right?"

"Right, let me go grab us two bottle of water for the walk and then maybe when we there we can find somewhere to eat and then take the subway back home."

"You've just suggested what I was about to suggest too." Brianna said to him.

"You know what they say" he said to her "Great mind's think alike." they both said it simultaneously.

"Couldn't agree more." Brianna said sweetly.

Jason went off and came back with the bottles of some water and then they began their 28 minute walk to the Millennium Park.

"So how you finding it, spending all this time with your other bother?" Jason teased Brianna.

"You gonna go there again."

"You've started it." Jason gave her his boyish playful side smile.

"Let's just forget that I ever said that, okay." Brianna said, playfully and gently, nudging Jason on the side with her elbow. "To be honest, I'm enjoying myself, spending time with you has really been good fun. I'm glad we decided to do this together."

"So am I." Jason said as they continued walking.

"You know, now that we spending all this time together, it sort of got me thinking about, how is it that you manage your time. You know, in turns of, going out on dates with other people?"

"Dates?"

"Yeah, like, aren't you like single and looking for someone?"

"Not really. Are you trying to brush me off by asking such a question?" Jason questioned Brianna.

"No, no, I'm just saying I haven't seen you with anyone for a while now."

"Relax I'm just kidding." Jason said when he saw an apprehensive expression on Brianna face. "I'm taking a break on dating these days. I'm enjoying the single life now, you know. What about you?"

"I'm also taking a break at dating too."

"You've dated?" Jason sounded surprised.

"Of course of I have. Why do seem so surprised."

"I don't know, I guess it's because I've never seen you with someone especially with Tye being over protective of you and all?"

"He's not only over protective of me, his also the same with my mom too, but he knows deep inside that we both woman and we can date who we want."

"I guess you right. We here, where should we start?" Jason asked when they reached Millennium Park.

"Let's just see everything and then keep the Cloud Gate last, coz I wanna to take lots of pictures there."

"I'll follow you." Jason said.

They both walked through the park exploring each section and once in a while Brianna would take a picture of Jason when he wasn't looking and then he would later pick up on what she did and playfully tickle her to grab hold of thr camera and start tsking pictures of her too.

When they reached the AT&T Plaza Cloud Gate, the sculpture looked stunningly displayed, Jason and Brianna took some more pictures and then decided to have lunch at a restaurant close by.

The waitress who came to attend to them was a young friendly bi-racial woman like Brianna, who tried to flirt with Jason.

Jason took his cap and sunglasses off when he was inside the restaurant and ran his hand through his medium length dark brunette casual hair which distracted Brianna by causing her to wonder how his hair would feel like if she'd touch it.

' _Probably soft to the touch, just like every part of him._ 'Brianna thought to herself.

"Bri, what would you like to drink?" Jason asked her again, since she looked a little distracted.

"I'll just have a Sprite with ice, please." Brianna said politely to the waitress.

"I'll be right back with your drinks order." The waitress said.

"Thanks." Jason said looking up at the waitress with a bright smile, which showed off his gorgeous dimples and perfect teeth.

"We've taken lots of pictures today." Jason said to her.

"Yes we did, my memory card is almost full. What is with you and waitresses?" Brianna asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like every one of them is always trying to get with you."

"I don't really see that, I just find them to be friendlier towards me."

"I don't know Jason. I think you're becoming a waitress magnet."

"A waitress magnet, now that's a good one." they both giggled at the thought of it, "On a serious note through, I have a question for you." Jason said to Brianna.

"Let's hear it." She welcomed it.

"So, has Tye ever met your ex-boyfriend?"

"No."

"Really." Jason was surprised to hear "Was it because of Tye that you broke up with the other guy?"

"No, we dated since tenth grade and then we split up, just before prom."

"That's why Tye had to go with you."

"Yes."

"Your drinks." the waitress put the drinks down on the table. "You guys ready to order from the menu." she continued.

She then took down the order from both Jason and Brianna and left.

"So how is it possible you had a boyfriend and Tye never knew about it?" Jason asked as he took a sip out of his beer.

"He and I did most of the dating at school and church during the week, that's how Tye never found out."

"How did you manage to date at school, being the sort of person, that's always so focused on studying?"

"That's why we broke up, I wasn't focusing on him for most of the time."

"Oh, I see, so you guys never went on dates?"

"We did once in a while when Chloe set up the whole double date thing and we hanged around at some parties too."

"Was he fun?" Jason asked.

"He was okay, I guess." Brianna said before the waitress came back with their food order and served them their dished on the table, not forgetting to give Jason a great and bright smile while she laid his plate down.

"Anything else?" she said focusing straight at Jason.

"We fine, thanks." Brianna said before Jason could respond, which made the young waitress give an eradicated look before she walked away.

"Enjoy." Jason said to Brianna before they began eating.

"Enjoy yours too."

While they eat they spoke about other things, like the amazing architectural sites that were surrounding the park, once they were done eating, they paid the bill and took the subway back to West Garfield Park where they waited for Mike to pick them up.

"I really hate it when the day has to end." Brianna said while they waited.

"Me too, we had so much fun today. I got to find out new things about you I never knew before."

"I hope it hasn't changed the way you see me."

"And in what way do you think I see you?"

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me." Brianna said gently and Jason gazed at her with wondering eyes, as they stood on the sidewalk.

Their eyes met, instantly connecting to each other for a moment and then Brianna took a closer step towards him.

The mood between them suddenly changed from being reserved towards each other and trying hard not to show any deep emotional feelings towards each other during their day out, to being attentive and alert at each other's nostalgic body actions.

Jason stared down at Brianna mouth and wanted kiss her so badly as she stepped closer and closer to him, but the thought of Tye finding out, made him hesitate and he was saved when Mike's car headlights that appeared and stopped right next to them.

He took a step back and noticed the disenchanted look on Brianna's face, then walked to open the back door for her and she got in.

The drive to Brianna's house was quite, she felt a little embarrassed for putting herself out there to him without thinking at first.

When they reached the house, Jason got out and opened the door, she thanked Mike for the ride and then stepped out of the car where she too said goodbye to Jason, unable to look at him in the eyes.

Jason watched as she enter her house, then got back into the car and made his way home.

When Brianna got into the house her mother was in the sitting room watching TV and she decided to join her.

"Hi mama." Brianna greeted Paige.

"Hi sweetheart. Did you have fun with Jason today?"

"Yes, yes I did." Brianna said sounding low.

▷ K, no prob.

"Jason's a really nice guy isn't he?"

"His a good person alright."

"Good enough to date, maybe?"

"Mama!"

"What, it's obvious that you like him."

"Yeah, but as a friend, as my best friend's brother, as Tye's friend, as childhood friends." Brianna tried to come up with excuses.

"As a boyfriend?" Paige said.

"Mama, I'm not his type. I mean, have you seen the girl's his dated in the past. They're the complete opposite of me" Brianna said taking a sit on the couch.

"In what way?"

"Well for starters, they're confident and they perhaps have more experience with man than me, you know."

"How do you know all that, have done a study on them or something?"

"No mama, I had first hand experience today when I tried to initiate something between us. Plus Jason's, Tye's best friend and." Brianna began to feel low spirited.

"And?"

"I just don't think Jason's into me, that's all."

"Brianna, whenever I see at how both of you look at each, I see something, something that perhaps one day both of you will see it too."

"And what is it, that you see mama?"

"I see two young people in love, who are letting an invisible wall stand between them which I'm hoping that perhaps someday, one of you will bring that wall down and finally live your love life in the open."

"I guess that both parties have to be willing, right." Brianna said thoughtfully, then her cellphone ran and it was Chloe calling to ask on how her day was going.

 **Chapter Eight**

Brianna told Chloe about her outing that day, but didn't mention going with Jason, she instead said she went out with Paige. Later that night after Chloe's phone call, Brianna laid in her bed with the camera while, in her comfy bum shorts and string strap top pajamas, she wore in summer and went through the pictures she had taken earlier that day.

Whenever she stopped at a picture of herself and Jason taken as selfies together smiling so happily, she kept thinking about what her mother said to her downstairs.

She wanted to truly believe that Jason had some sort of deep feeling towards her like she did for him, especially since he seemed so interested on finding about her past relationship, but then she thought about how she took the first step forward towards him, and how she was hoping he'd do something or at least say something to her, which didn't happen and that alone made her think that she had probably ruined any changes of her and him ever having to go out again for the remaining week before Chloe came back.

She switched off the camera and put it away, and then she turned off the side lamp and went to sleep.

Jason didn't know whether or not he had to call or sent a text message to Brianna when he got home, Brianna actions that day provided with the proof he needed to know her true feelings towards and he messed it up by just brushing her off.

Jason couldn't think of what do next, so for the next few days he kept things between him and Brianna quite until he figured out something.

When Monday morning came Brianna used most of her time looking for a job and she found a day time job which she had secured and had to go for an interview on Tuesday morning.

The position available was for a shelve stocker at a beverage depot on Near South Loop, Chicago; her job required her to work from 09am till 5pm. Other requirements were that she had to stock up shelves when needed, make sure all items has the correct pricing, maintain the floors clean whenever there was an accident, assist customers in finding what they needed and provide packing assistance when shoppers were paying at the pay point, when she was done with her other tasks.

She had to go come into work on Saturdays too from 9am till 3pm. After being interviewed and hired on the sport, she started work on Wednesday morning and left house with her Paige since their jobs went in the same direction.

Jason and Tye were always on the road an hour before anybody else because they worked in a more traffic congested area.

Jason found out about Brianna's new job threw Tye on Wednesday morning when they were heading to work in the morning, he felt a little disappointed, based on the fact that Brianna never told him.

' _Shit, she must be really mad at me',_ he thought to himself when he heard the news.

Hi, heard you started your new job today, congrates.

Later that day Jason decided to send a text message to Brianna during his lunch break, wishfully hoping that Brianna was having her lunch break too.

▷ Thanks, was planning on to texting you about it, hope you not too upset.

I'm not upset, I'm happy for you. It's the day job you've been looking for, right?

▷ Yes.

Got to go, have some more deliveries to get through. I want to talk to you tonight, if it's okay with u?

▷ Sure, I'll be at home around 6 pm.

C u later.

' _What could he want to talk to me about '_ Brianna thought to herself; _'perhaps he wants to clear the air between us and talk about what happened on Saturday and then brush me off or maybe I'm just overthinking, let me go back to work',_ she said to herself after lunch.

Brianna got home at 5:40 pm and went straight up to her room to freshen up because she didn't want to be wearing her work uniform when Jason came around.

Paige came home at round 6 pm with some take-a-ways which Jason helped her carry into to the house.

Brianna was coming down the steps when Paige and Jason were entering the house and they both looked up when they noticed Brianna.

She wore a long, black and white, full length striped racer back sleeveless tank maxi dress with her hair up and had no make-up on.

Jason thought she looked naturally beautiful as his eyes followed her when she took her last few steps to reach them. Paige retrieved the take-out packets from Jason and said she was going to get dinner ready for them to eat, Paige had ordered some Italian pastes for dinner.

Jason and Brianna watched as Paige went off to the kitchen leaving them behind feeling a little tongue-tied.

"Where's Tye?" Brianna said, finally breaking the silence.

"I dropped him off at Lu's place."

"I see his got a new home to go to now." Brianna said trying to be humorous while at the same time trying to avoid making direct eye contact with Jason, but still noticing that Jason was dressed in his casual clothes, he wore a pair of jean and black printed t-shirt with casual sneakers and he looked good in the clothes he choose to wear that night.

"I guess so." he said feeling a little out of his depth.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about tonight?" Brianna asked sounding slightly nervous.

"I-I got us some tickets for a concert on Saturday. I was listening to the radio yesterday and I heard that Alicia Keys is in town, so I thought of you, and how much you enjoy her music, and I decided to get the last few tickets, that were available. And now I'm wondering if you'd like to go with me on Saturday."

"I'd love to, Alicia Keys, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Brianna was delighted with the news and Jason saw as her face lightening up with excitement.

"So, I'll take that as a yes?"

"Most definitely a yes." Brianna said letting out a big smile.

They both smiled at each other and breathed in easily, and then there was an awkward silence between them once more.

When Brianna looked at Jason, his face changed from smiling to being more serious and when he opened his mouth again to say something, she knew it would be about their last occurring event.

Jason had one hand in his jeans pocket and the other he used to run his fingers through his hair while he tried to find the right words to say to Brianna.

"Bri" he said, "About last Saturday, I just wanted to let you know that I…"

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I shouldn't have done what I did back there, I mean, I know where you stand with me and my family as a whole, especially Tye, you guys have a strong bond. Please let's just enjoy the concert on Saturday and forget about what shouldn't have happened, it was wrong of me to put you in a spot like that. Chloe will be back on Monday and we can go back to where we were before, as friends, right?" Brianna cut him short before he could finish his sentence.

"Yeah, um, of course, it's probably best, if we do that." Jason said feeling like words had been stolen from mouth, he looked at Brianna and she looked as though she felt alleviated from saying all the words she had been keeping in her head.

Jason took in her words and said nothing for a while.

"If you kids want some pasta, it's in the kitchen." Paige called out to them.

"Are you joining us for dinner?" Brianna asked Jason.

"I can't stay, I've made plans for dinner with my dad tonight. I better go." Jason said feeling and looking a little mixed with emotions, trying his best not to show.

"What time will you be here on Saturday?" Brianna asked him.

"Around 5p m, if that's okay."

"I'll be waiting." Brianna said letting Jason out through the front door.

"Bye Ms. Johnson." Jason said to her from the door.

"Aren't you grasping some pasta?" Paige said to him from the sitting area.

"Mama, his going to dinner with his dad tonight." Brianna replied on Jason's behalf.

"Maybe some other time Ms. Johnson." Jason said to Paige.

"Okay, say hi to your dad for me then." Paige replied back.

"Will do, bye Bri." Jason said.

"Bye Jason." Brianna closed the door behind him once he was down the front steps of the house.

When Jason got in the car, he tried to calm his emotions down; ' _Why didn't I say it, why didn't I just turn around to her and said, listen Brianna you're all I ever wanted ever since day one. You drive me crazy when you look at me the way you do with your bright smiling eyes, I want you to myself so badly, oh fuck, what's the use',_ Jason thought to himself.

Feeling frustrated, he then started the car and drove home.

 _...Friday night_ **...**

"It has to be this Saturday man, are you serious" Tye said to Jason when as they played a game of pool at a bar, not far from where they worked.

Every Friday night after a long week of at work, they always make time to hang out for the night, just doing stuff that bro's did.

"I really have to go to that concert; I got the tickets and all." Jason said focusing and hitting a ball into a hole.

"Man, couldn't you have chosen something else on a Sunday or something, you had to choose the day we playing', when you know for sure there'll be plenty of people raising bets for the game."

"It's how the concert date was set, plus I'm sure Bowie can take my place in court." Jason hit another ball into the hole and had only one left till he had to put hit 8 black.

"Who's this girl anyway, that's making you miss out on the game and shit?" Tye asked him.

"She's someone special." Jason missed the next ball and it was Tye's turn.

"Someone special, huh, is that it? You ain't hittin' it yet?" Tye too had one ball left to go which he aimed then hit making sure it went into the hole.

"No, I don't have to hit it, to know that she's special."

"Oh is that right?" Tye said eyeing the last ball.

"Yeah man, you know I'm not that kind of guy."

"Yeah I know, you're the type that invests in women and I'm the type that's gotta get some of the good stuff first, in order to invest in dinners and shit." Tye said assertively.

"I guess we have to been different in some way or the other, right?"

"You right about that." Tye hit the 8 black and won the frame.

"I'm keeping the car tomorrow night, alright" Jason said to Tye.

"Alright, I'll tell the fellas to come get me. Come on let's have some drinks by the bar then you can drop me off at home."

"You're not going to spend the night at Lu's." Jason asked him.

"Nah man, her mama's not goin' to the church overnight"

"That sucks for you."

"Yeah, now I'm only goin' to see her on Sunday when I take her and her family for lunch."

"Shit, so you both are really getting serious, huh?"

"I just need her mama to like me, that's all, that way I can go around the house, day and night, you know what I'm sayin."

"A man with a plan."

"That's right." They both cheered their beer bottles.

Saturday came and after working from 9am till 3pm, Brianna got home at around 3:30pm and took an unplanned powernap and woke up with a fright at 4pm thinking she was running late for the concert.

She had her outfit set out for the concert already the night before, so when she got up; she quickly curled big sections of her hair in sponge curlers and went straight to take a quick 10 minute shower. For the concert she sought out to wear a knee length white floral dress with her lace strap purple sneakers and a short sleeve denim jacket.

She planned on taking with her, her brown small leather sling bag where she'd keep all the essentials she think she'd need whilst at the concert.

Tye was about to leave the house and to go to the basketball game with his other fellas, but before they'd arrived he decide to go past Brianna's bedroom to have a little chat with her and see what she was up to.

"Come in." Brianna responded when Tye knocked on her bedroom door.

"Hey sis." He greeted her as she was putting on her last sneaker.

"Hey." She greeted back with a smile.

"Where you goin all dressed up like that?" Tye asked Brianna when he saw that she had taken extra pride in making herself look even prettier then she already was and he had a chance to look at her once she stood up from sitting down on her bed.

"You like?" Brianna asked him.

"I like it, you lookin real pretty."

"Thanks." Brianna smiled at him.

"Where you goin' though?" He asked again.

"I'm going to the church youth concert, tonight." Brianna said.

"Are you goin with mama?"

"No." Brianna answered right away. "I mean, Mrs. Watson is coming to pick me up with her daughter."

"Will there be lots of church boys goin there tonight?" Tye asked taking a seat at the end of Brianna's bed.

"I don't know, I'm going there for the concert." Brianna said.

"You gotta watch out and be careful though with them church boys, you know, some of em' ain't always what they seem be inside and outside church." Tye said alerting and looking at his sister's face as he watched her take out the set air dried sponge curlers from her hair, through the table mirror which she seat in front of, placed on top of her study table.

"True, but I'm not going there to get a date tonight, I'm just going to catch up with the other girls."

"That's good."

"You still worrying about who I'll date even after I've graduated?" Brianna set out a question to her brother.

"You're my only sister; of course I worry about the man that's goin' to look after you someday. I just think though, that, you don't have to rush into to gettin' yourself caught up in a relationship that might just distract you from what you have planned for yourself."

"Having a boyfriend won't distract me from the plans I have set for me, plus I'm pretty sure I can pick out on the right sort of guy for me now, don't you?" Brianna said thoughtfully to Tye.

"Look, I'm just goin' to say that I wanna to see you happy. I want you to make it far and guys contribute to a lot of distractions, you know. You should focus on saving up, going back to studying and getting out of this neighborhood, find something to fall back on before you think about gettin' into a relationship, coz you know how you woman can give yourselves completely and forget about your own ambitions."

"I know what you saying and I agree with you completely, but enough of me. Let's talk about you and Lucinda, I see you found yourself a new home now." Brianna changed the topic.

"We just trying to spend as much time together as possible that's all, her mama still don't like me, but I'm working on that."

"After all this time, you guys still look good together." Brianna complemented Tye.

"Shit, I better go." Tye said when he heard a car hooting outside. "Enjoy the concert tonight, alright and I'll see in the morning, coz me and the guys are hanging out after the game."

"Okay, good luck with the game tonight" Brianna wished him well.

"Alright, see ya." Tye said when he was by the door.

"Bye."

Tye went downstairs and said goodbye Paige, when he opened the front door his fellas where waiting for him in the car where the music was blearing with hip hop, Tye got in and they headed to their basketball game.

Jason arrived a few minutes after Tye had left, knocked on the door and Paige got up to answer it.

To Paige's surprise, Jason bought her a bunch of bright and colorful flowers and she was delighted with Jason's thoughtful gesture.

She invited him in and offered him a drink while he waited for Brianna and he accepted, once Paige got him a glass of juice, she went back into the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. Brianna made her way downstairs a few minutes later after she hearing Jason and Paige.

Jason stood up just as soon as he saw Brianna come into the sitting room; she looked beautiful with her long curls falling around her face, looked innocent from the way she had dressed and felt somewhat timid while Jason stared her out.

"You look amazing." Jason complimented her.

"Thanks." Brianna said with a gentle smile and then the old familiar, awkward silence came between them once more.

Paige broke the silence when she walked back into the sitting room after a while with the vase of bright and colourful flowers that Jason had gotten for her, she placed the vase on one of the side tables in sitting room which was next to the 2 sitter couch, positioned facing it's back by the window, she placed it there just so whenever someone would come through the front door they would catch a glimpse of the flowers.

"Wow mama those are beautiful, I didn't know you bought flowers today." Brianna said when she saw the flowers.

"They're from Jason, he got them for me." Paige said touching them.

"That's really nice of you Jason." Brianna said to him.

"I got them just to say thanks to your mom for being kind to me over the past week or so, and of course for allowing me to take you out whenever I did." Jason said appreciatively.

"Oh, you welcome Jason, you're a really sweet boy." Paige said to him and touched his face. "You two should probably make your way to the concert, coz you probably still need to find some parking" Paige told them.

"You got everything?" Jason asked Brianna.

"Yeah, let's go. Bye mama." Brianna said giving her mom a kiss on the cheek.

Paige followed them to the door and watched them get into the car before she shut and locked the door.

Once she was alone inside, she made her way to the kitchen and made a sandwich for herself which she then ate in front of the TV while watching some religious channel.

"So, I was thinking that we should grab a bite on our way to the concert, since we have a bit of time." Jason suggested when both he and Brianna where inside the car.

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Brianna agreed with him feeling a little puckish herself.

"Where do you want to grab a bite?" Jason asked her.

"I don't really know, but I think we should get some wraps, they quick and easy to take down."

"Wraps, sounds good to me." Jason agreed with Brianna's choice of food.

They stopped at a take-out near the Chicago Theatre and they both ordered chicken wraps with a sodas, once they were done the went and found a parking space and then walked a small distance to the theatre were they had to stand in a queue for a while before they handed their tickets and got in.

Once inside, they found a spot where they had a view of the center stage but at a distance, a few moments later there were more crowds of people around them and when the opening act came on stage, they began to receive a great deal of light pushing and brushing from the people around them.

A particular young man, who had clearly one too many to drinks before the main artist came on stage, walked in front Brianna and lost his balance, causing his body to almost unintentionally fall over Brianna, Brianna saw him loss his balance and had no time to move away, but luckily Jason managed to catch the young male before he reached her, by putting his forearm in the way and pulling the young male back to a standing position.

"Watch where you going, man!" Jason let him off with a warning.

"I'm sorry pal, alright" the young male said moving on.

Brianna liked the fact that Jason had protected her from an near unforeseen wounding incident, it made her feel like she still meant something to him, which brought a look of gratitude and admiration to her face towards him.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked her.

"I'm fine. Thanks for avoiding an accident."

"Sure thing, let's just hope there isn't more of them." Jason said to her.

"Yeah" Brianna said, and then they both focused their attention back to the stage.

The opening act performed for an a good 40 minutes and then the time had come for Alicia Keys to come on stage.

When she entered the whole theatre including Brianna cheered for her until she found her seat in front of the piano and began to play.

She sang all her songs from 'The Element of Freedom' album and Brianna sang the words to each and every song that played. From time to time between songs Jason would look at Brianna and watch her when she'd sometimes close her eyes and joyfully sing along with a smile on her face.

There was one song in particular that played in the concert were Jason felt like she was singing to him, the last song was titled ' _Un-thinkable'_ , which raised questions in Jason's mind about her true feelings at that point.

"You truly love Alicia Key's music, don't you?" Jason said to Brianna when they were in the car on their way back to Brianna's house after the concert.

"Ever since I heard her first hits on the radio, it really felt good being there tonight." Brianna said.

"Her words are quite deep."

"Yeah, that's why I fell for her music; it really gets one thinking about a lot of things that happens in life."

"It does." Jason said after he stopped outside Brianna's house and switched off the car.

"Thank you so much for getting those concert tickets, I loved every minute of it." Brianna thanked Jason once again.

"I'm glad you loved it." Jason said.

"I guess tonight was our last outing then?" Brianna said letting out a silence sigh.

"I guess so too." Jason said sounding a little distant towards her. "Let me open the door for you" he said getting out of the drivers sit.

Brianna watched as he walked around the front of the car to get to her door, he opened her door and then stood at the end of it to allow her to get out of the car.

When Brianna was out, Jason shut the door behind her and stood in front of her and looking like he wanted to tell her something.

"Bri." Jason said her name softly while looking at her and touching he car with one hand.

"Yes Jason." She paid close attention to him.

"We cool right, you and me?" He said making eye contact with her.

"Yeah, yeah we are. Goodnight." Brianna said trying to prevent a downer moment from happening, she took a small step forward and stepped onto her loose shoelaces, that she wasn't aware off, which caused her to lose balance and leap forwards, but was caught by Jason before reaching the sidewalk.

"Are you okay? Did you twist your ankle?" Jason asked concerned about her physical being, while gently touching and probing her face as he helped her stand up straight on her feet.

"I'm okay" Brianna whispered back at him as they both had a fixed gaze on each other for a moment, while her hands rested on either side of Jason's upper hips area and her eyes changed focus when she looked straight down Jason's mouth and slightly wet her lips at the thought of how close he and she were to closing the gap between with a kiss.

Jason became aware of Brianna's body language and began to feel the strong yearn to kiss her once again, just as he did when they previously came face to face with each other.

But this time around, Jason's mind was cleared of any thoughts that would pull him back, so with both hands still on either side of Brianna's face, he drew her closer to him, closed his eyes and placed his lips on hers, gently parting them by softly drawing her upper lip into his mouth inviting himself in.

Brianna welcomed his clasping kiss and soon they were both were involved in a lusting feverishly slow and deep sensual moment where their mouths, their tongues, and skin come together and the two ventures into a world where they didn't allow anything or anyone to come in while they stood outside in their moment of passion, time felt as though it had stopped, just for the both of them as they expressed their true feelings in a long lasting kiss.

Tye was dropped off by his fellas at the corners of the street and he had walk a few houses to get to his, as he walked closer to his house, he began to see a clearer view of Jason and Brianna making out outside his house.

"What the hell's goin' on here?" Tye asked when he was close enough to them, sounding furious and causing Jason and Brianna to come to an abrupt stop and look straight at him.

 **Chapter Nine**

"Tye, I'm sorry man, I didn't see you coming." Jason said wetting his lips, after he backed away from Brianna, feeling apologetic.

"Of course you didn't see me comin'. You're too busy kissing my sister, in front of my house. So now you goin' to disrespect me like that man!" Tye was glaring at Jason.

"It's not like that Tye." Brianna stepped in.

"Let's not even go there Bri, coz you lied to me tonight, you said you was goin' to a church concert tonight and now I find you out here with the same guy, who told me he was taking a girl to a concert tonight. Just go inside, I'll talk to you later." Tye said feeling disappointed at his sister.

"Tye, she's the girl I took to the concert tonight." Jason assured him.

"Huh, so now you both been keeping secrets away from me!" Tye said trying to calm himself down.

"Tye, whatever happened out here tonight, wasn't meant to happen like this man. I was planning on talking to you about how I feel, about Bri." Jason said.

"Bri, just please go inside, I wanna talk to Jason by myself." Tye asked his sister once more.

"I'm not leaving him out here with you looking like you want to punch him, coz none of this is his fault!" Brianna said standing by Jason, while Tye looked dead straight at him.

"Bri just listen to you brother, okay. I'm pretty sure I'll be fine." Jason said looking at Brianna.

"I'll wait for your call tonight." Brianna looked back at him worried.

"Okay." Jason replied.

"Thanks for everything, Jason." Brianna said after she tucked her shoelaces and walked away giving Jason a trace of a smile and Tye a disappointed down stare.

Both man watched her get inside the house and shut the door behind her.

"Get in the car, we goin' for a ride." Tye said after calming himself down a little while walking towards Jason.

Jason said nothing and got onto the driver sea and started the car.

Brianna watched them drive away through the window and hoped that nothing bad would happen.

"Hi sweetheart, how was the concert?" Paige asked when she found Brianna looking through the window.

When Brianna heard her mother's warm voice she turned and hugged her and began to cry. Paige and Brianna went to the sitting room and Paige seat her down on the couch with their arms were still wrapped around each other while tears still rolled down Brianna's cheeks.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Paige asked as she caressed her daughter's hair while she rested her head on her lap.

"Jason, kissed me." Brianna said sitting up on the couch to look at her mother while she wiped away some tears with her hands.

"Was it bad?" Paige asked concerned.

"No, it was really great, it was amazing, it's what I wanted him to do for such a long time. I didn't want him to stop." Brianna's sounded like she was climbing up to cloud nine, just by think about Jason's kiss.

"If it was so great, then why are you so upset?" Paige sounded confused.

"Tye–Tye saw us and got upset, his in a car with Jason right now and I don't know what's going to happen after tonight mama."

"They just probably going to clear things out, don't worry yourself too much. Jason and Tye have a special bond, that no matter how much they get angry with each other, they always manage to make up." Paige held her daughter's hand.

"I hope you right, mama, I hope you right." Brianna placed her hand over her mother's.

Tye told Jason to drive up to the nearby basketball court that was not too far from Jason's apartment block and once the car stopped running, Tye gestured to Jason to hand him the car keys, so he could go out to the trunk of the car and retrieve their basketball.

Jason handed the keys and got out the car and watched as Tye got the ball and proceeded to go to the court and Jason followed him. There they began to bounce and pass the ball to each other, in silence, so each had a turn to throw and try to score.

"So how long have you and my sister been seeing each other?" Tye said when it was Jason's turn throw.

"Less than a week, but we only planned on hanging out." Jason said holding the ball in his hands.

"So how do you explain what happened tonight Jason! Did you change your mind tonight from wanting to hang out with her, to wanting to bang her, is that it?" Tye questioned Jason's intentions.

"Huh, I know that's what you probably thinking right now and I guess I do deserve to hear that, but truth is. I've always been keen on Brianna, ever since the first day I saw her at your house on thanks giving." Jason confessed to Tye.

"We were kids then, man!"

"I know, but ever since that day, I haven't been able to keep myself away from not ever being able to see her face."

"And what about the girls you've dated, weren't they special too?" Tye shook his head.

"Tye, you know for a fact that those relationships I've had have never lasted, and the only reason they've never lasted was because, I've always tried to find the same qualities in those girls that I find in your sister."

"And what qualities are those actually, Jason!" Tye said taking a few steps closer to Jason, while trying to intimidate him.

"Brianna is different to all those other girls I've been with. She's sweet, she's kind, she's smart, she's beautiful, she's naïve at times, she's unmaterialistic, she's–" Jason put out all his feelings.

"Enough, I've heard enough." Tye cut him short, took the ball from Jason's hand and began to bounce it, and then he aimed for the hoop and missed the shot.

Jason retrieved the ball, bounced it and aimed for the hoop and the ball went through the hole.

They both continued to take turns in silence.

"So, you're not going to say anything else now?" Jason broke the silence.

"I just want to know from you, why Brianna? Being that we best friends and all. What are your intentions with her?" Tye asked him.

"My intentions at this point, is that I want to get to know her better. I intend on telling her actually how I feel and then I want to hear her side, if she feels the same way about me, so that maybe, after that we both can decide on what's best."

"I just can't Jason. I can't believe you telling me this man! Shit! The things we both have done together man. I just can't imagine that the same guy who used to fuck girls in the same room as me wants my sister, this shit ain't right man, it ain't right!"

"Tye, that shit happened long ago man; I'm not that same guy."

"But you sure look the same to me! What happens when you get tired of her, just as you did with them other girls! What then!" Tye passed the ball to Jason with added potency and Jason felt that Tye was still ireful towards him.

Jason felt like the conversation was getting him nowhere with Tye holding back on his insecurities about his sister.

"Alright, I get it, you think I'm still the same Jason as before and that's okay. I'm sorry I disrespected you the way I did tonight, it wasn't intentional. If you don't want me around your sister anymore, its fine, but just know that I'm not going to be the one that's going to tell her that." Jason said putting the ball on the ground then turned his back and walked to his apartment.

Tye tightened his jaw, still feeling a little mad towards at what he had witnessed that night as he watched Jason walk away in the darkness of the street to his apartment block, feeling somewhat a little remorseful for him too, because that was his one and only best friend. Tye picked up the ball from on the ground and went back home.

"You what!" Chloe said in disbelief from the other side of the phone.

"Jason and I kissed tonight." Brianna said.

"Oh my Gosh, he finally did it." Chloe sounded happy.

"What do mean, he finally did it."

"Come on Bri, I've seen the way you two have been looking at each other for years, you were like the forbidden fruit, Gosh I'm so happy he finally decided to take a bite out of you."

"Chloe!"

"What, I'm just saying it, like I see it, or have been seeing it at least. You two are like a match made in heaven."

"Aren't you worried about the fact that he's your brother and I'm your best friend?"

"Not at all, I mean, why would that even bother me?"

"I don't know, I guess, I thought you were like Tye or something."

"Tye's just being a jerk, he shouldn't even be trying to stop you two from getting the ball rolling, coz no one's ever stopped him from dating or banging other people's daughters or sisters."

"It's Jason, we talking about here, his best friend or as he likes to say it, his brother."

"Shouldn't make a difference, if you and Jason like each other, you both must just brush him aside, which I can help with by the way. You both must just carry on."

"But then I don't want to be the reason behind their break-up."

"Ah, come on Bri, you need to think about yourself, be selfish for once in your life."

"Chloe I got to go, I think Tye's just got home and his just knocked on my door, it was really nice talking to you."

"Be selfish for once and stand your ground, call me whenever okay." Chloe emphasized.

"Okay, thanks, bye."

"Bye."

Brianna hung up the phone and told Tye to come it, Tye was a little calmer this time because he knew he had to be since it wasn't going to be easy to talking to his sister.

Brianna was sitting at the head of her bed with her legs crossed and had a pillow covering her legs; she was dressed in her short sleeve comfy pajamas and still held her cellphone in her hands. Tye came in and seat at the end of her bed, he looked around her bedroom and then at her while reaching and grabbing a Teddy in his hand that was at the end of her bed, to use a focal point whenever he felt like he couldn't look up at his sister.

"So, I—spoke to Jason tonight." He said looking down at the Teddy bear.

"What did he say?" Brianna asked.

"He told me about how he's been feeling you, for a while now. You diggin' Jason now, Bri? I mean, out of all people, why Jason?"

"It's always been Jason, ever since the day he set foot in this house ." Brianna said.

"Why didn't I see it?"

"Coz we never showed it."

"And why only now?" Tye looked up at her.

"I don't know Tye. I guess perhaps we both decided to just bring down the wall that separated the both of us for so long." Brianna found courage in herself to say those words she had once heard from her own mother.

"What wall?"

"You Tye. We both didn't want to ever hurt you, that's why we never said a lot to each other."

"You know Bri. I'm finding it kind of hard this whole thing out there tonight, I feeling betrayed by my sister and dissed by my best friend. I'm just in a tough space right now."

"None of it is Jason's fault, I know it's a lot to ask but please don't be upset with him. I don't want you both to fight because of me, but Tye just let me decide whether or not I want to be with him" Brianna said to him gently.

"If you wanna be with him, it's up to you, I don't wanna be 'the wall' that separates the both of you anymore like you said. I hope you both work things out, but, from my side, Jason's not welcome in this house anymore and you can tell him that for me." Tye said getting up from the bed and leaving the room, leaving Brianna behind with tears in her eyes.

Brianna curled in her bed and continued to cry until she got a call from Jason after a few minutes.

"Hello" she said trying to catch her breath.

"Are you okay Bri?" Jason asked worried about Brianna.

"Ye–yeah, I'm fine"

"I'm coming over" Jason said not thinking twice.

"No, no, please don't, I'm fine, I promise I'm fine, I've just been crying a little that's all."

"What's going on? I'm freaking out!"

"Tye and I had a talk, that's why I'm upset."

"What did he say to you?"

"He said to me that um, if I want to be with you, it will be totally up to me and then he turned around and said that I must let you know that you're not welcome in this house anymore."

"Well, I expected something like that."

"Did he hurt you tonight?" Brianna asked Jason.

"No, we just talked. Bri, I really want to talk you but I don't want to do it over the phone, can I come and pick up for coffee in the morning?"

"Sure, I'll tell my mom I won't be making it to church in the morning, I'm sure she'll be fine without me."

"Okay then, take it easy for me okay, I'll see you in a few hours."

"Okay, goodnight Jason."

"Goodnight." They both hung up.

Sunday morning Jason and Brianna where at a café having breakfast, when they arrived at the café they seat next to each on the long bench leather couch, a male waitron came to their table with some menus and took down their drinks orders.

Jason ordered a glass of cold milk with and a coffee while Brianna ordered some hot tea.

"So how you feeling this morning? you were so quite in the car on the way here." Jason said to Brianna.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened last night." Brianna said looking at Jason.

"It sort of happened really fast didn't it?"

"Yes, it did." Brianna agreed.

The waitron came back with the drinks and placed them on the table.

"Have you guys had a look at the menu?" The waitron asked.

"Um, can you give us 5 minutes, please." Jason asked him politely.

"Sure man" The waitron said and left.

"What you feel like Bri?" Jason asked her, flipping through the menus.

"I think I'll have the bacon, cheddar and chives omelet with toast, how about you?"

"I'll have the all American breakfast. I guess we ready, let me call him back." Jason said signaling the waitron which appeared in seconds and took their orders.

"You like milk?" Brianna asked Jason when she saw him take down the full glass of cold milk he ordered.

"It's an old habit, I drink one glass of cold milk in the morning when I wake up and one glass of warm milk at night before bed every day, since a little boy, my mom made me do that since I've never really liked having yoghurt as a source of calcium."

"Sweet." Brianna said looking at Jason's sweet smile as he told her a little something about him that she didn't know.

Brianna stirred her tea pot and poured some tea into her cup and then added a spoon of sugar, Jason took a sip of his coffee whilst looking at her, as she stirred the sugar in her cup and then lifted the cup to her mouth to drink some tea.

"What?" Brianna asked him shyly, once she caught his eyes staring at her.

"I'm curious to know something from you" Jason looked at her eyes sincerely.

"What is it?" Brianna asked him keenly.

"Do you regret us kissing last night?"

"No, not for a moment."

"How long have you had feeling for me?"

"Since the day you first came to our house for thanks giving." Brianna said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"That was the same day for me too, I remember like it was yesterday, when I saw you helping your mom set the table and you turned to me and smiled, you were wearing a knitted purple jersey that day, yeah, and ever since then I couldn't keep my eyes of you. I used to spend a lot of time at your house doing homework after that with Tye, just so I could see you."

"That oversized jersey, oh my gosh, I must've as looked like a complete geek." Brianna said giggling at herself.

"You looked beautiful to me and you still do till this day." Jason gazed at her, taking in her beauty as he gently touched her face with both his thumbs on either side of her cheeks, he then moved closer to her and placed a tender kiss on her forehead and said, "You're a special person, you have a kind heart, a nice smile and you smart."

"Your order." the waitron came through breaking Jason and Brianna's focus.

"Thank you." They both said at the same time and then smiled at each other.

"So, now that we both have established how we feel about each other, what do you think would be the best thing for us to do after we leave this place?, I mean, I've waited so long to tell you a bit of what I've said today, but I also want to hear more from you, I want to know what you thinking, what's going through your mind right now." Jason said once they went back to their initial sitting distance and began to unwrap the cutlery from the napkin, to start eating.

"I'm not going to sit here and lie to you Jason. I'm afraid about what lies ahead if we both decide to go steady, but at the same time, when it comes down to you, my mind's already made up. I've always truly wanted to be with and that what I want at this point."

"I want you too. I want to spend every moment with you, every moment I've lost with you." Jason said looking straight at Brianna then he reached for hand and kissed it, he held her hand for a few seconds until Brianna suggested that they'd better eat before their food got cold.

Once breakfast was done Jason and Brianna walked outside to get in Mike's car. It was a bright and sunny Sunday morning outside and Brianna didn't feel like going home yet.

"Jason." Brianna called out his name while they walked towards the car.

"Yeah." He turned his attention to her.

"I don't want to go home just yet. I want to take a walk at a park or something, it's such a beautiful day, don't you think?"

"I'm up for whatever you want to do."

"Great, then let's walk." Brianna said gently pulling Jason in the direction she wanted to walk while they held hands.

Brianna was wearing her black pumps that morning with a pair of black denims and a flowing yellow floral blouse, Jason was wearing a pair of blue denims and blue printed t-shirt with a black cap and some Jordan sneakers.

They left the car behind and took a walk around the Union Park arm in arm, as they walked through the park they found an ice-cream stand and Jason bought two fruity ice-lollies and they decided to have them under a shady spot beneath a tree watching the movement of people around the park.

"Hah, this is so nice." Brianna said after she finished her ice-lolly, welcoming the wonderful summer breeze and appreciating the green scenery surrounding her and Jason.

"It is—but you know what would be nicer?" Jason said getting up from the grass and looking at her solicitously.

"What?" Brianna asked inquisitively as he helped her to her feet.

"A sweet kiss from you." Jason said leaning closer to Brianna.

Brianna moved back slowly away from him, until she felt the tree against her back and Jason followed her and stood in front of her then closed the gap between them with one swift move, Jason moved his hands behind her back and neck, and gently touched and caressed her jawline with his thumbs on either side of her face while gazing at her, he then placed his mouth on Brianna's, just as he did the night before, and gave her a soft and slow passionate kiss.

This time the kiss lasted much longer than before, they each explored one another's mouth with their tongues and as they kissed, still tasting the sweetness of the fruity ice-lollies they had both consumed.

Brianna had hands resting on either side of Jason's upper torso and she felt his contoured muscles as he kissed her, those muscles that she had wanted to have a feel for such a long time. Jason had his hands in her hair and gently cared it, they kissed for as long as they wanted and then stopped when they had enough.

Jason pressed his temple on Brianna's temple and they both looked at each other with admiring eyes followed by satisfied smiles.

Jason dropped Brianna back at her house and kissed her goodbye when he shut the front passenger door behind her, it was a swift but tender smooch just in case Tye decided to appear again.

Once Jason saw Brianna safely indoors he went back home to return his dad's car because his dad had plans to go out and meet up with some old friends, old friends that he'd known from his previous job who enjoyed gambling just as much as he did but the difference between them and Mike, was that Mike never knew when to stop, even when he'd run out of the budgeted funds he saved.

There had been several times when Mike would get paid and got out with his friends for a weekend and returned home the next week without a penny and during those times Jason would always have to fork out some money to pay the outstanding bills, which made saving for him almost impossible.

Chloe and Jason had pleaded with Mike for years to go and get treated for his gambling addiction, but Mike would always start an addiction program and go well for a few weeks but when his friends would call him, he'd always slip back to his old habits after the third or fourth outing.

Jason and Chloe grew tired of trying to help their dad and decided to take matters into their own hands, so every month when Mike got paid they made sure that he paid the rent in their presence, after that was done Jason took over the rest of the monthly expenses.

Chloe stopped asking for money from either of them since she started dating Tyrel because he gave her cash every time he saw her after he'd done a good job at selling some of his stock or collecting money for his Uncle.

"Hi dad thanks for the car." Jason said handing over the car keys to his dad in the kitchen, who was all dressed up and ready go.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then. Does the car have gas?" Mike asked him.

"Yea, should I even bother saying 'try not spending all your money tonight'?" Jason said him.

"I'm only taking cash, I'm leaving my cards at home, once I'm done, I'm done."

"Keep telling that to yourself, dad." Jason said pressing his lips together and giving his dad an unconvinced look. "Don't forget Chloe's back tomorrow morning, I'll see you when I get back from work" Jason left the kitchen and went straight to his bedroom.

Mike felt slightly hit by his son's words but was still determined to go out with his friends, he grabbed the keys and left the apartment, when Jason heard the front door shut, he shook his head, asking himself of when the day would come, when his father will eventually realize that there is more to life than just gambling your life and money away.

He didn't let his father bring him down for too long though because he turned his focus on the only person who was truly making him feel happy, Brianna.

And when Brianna got home she overheard Tye and Paige talking in the kitchen, they didn't hear her come in so she decided to listen in on what they were saying when she heard her name and Jason's name mentioned in the conversation, Tye was still sounding a little upset and as it turns out Paige decided not to go to church that Sunday too.

"So, you know that they were both going out." Tye said to his mom.

"Yes I did and I supported it. I didn't see anything wrong with them going out and having fun."

"Mama, my best friend was taking my sister out without my permission, I caught them making out, outside my house and I see my best friend every single day at work, he could have at least said something to me, don't you think it's within my rights to be mad at him."

"I know you hurting but I'm sure his apologized." Paige said trying to cool him down.

"He has, but that don't mean I've forgiven him." Tye said, pulling a face.

"You will eventually."

"His really hurt my feeling mama, his really dented my pride."

"Tye! All I'm hearing from you say, is how much Brianna and Jason have hurt 'your feelings'." Paige emphasized.

"Well they have mama."

"Don't you realize that these feelings they've had for each other for such a long time has got nothing to do with how you feeling right now, but everything to do with what they've wanted from each other since day one? Stop being stubborn and selfish about the two people you care about the most, because you might just end up losing the both of them and be left alone to think about how difficult you're making the whole experience for them when they're just trying to get to know each other better and hoping to work something out." Paige said trying to knock some sense into Tye. "Jason's a good guy Tye, and you know it, his had your back for a long time, his kept you focused and both of you have looked out for each other. If there's one guy your sister should be with, that guy should be Jason, because at least he has a better understanding on how you feel about your sister." Paige continued and saw a change in Tye's mood.

"Mama, I gotta go, I need to meet with Lucinda's family for lunch." Tye said calmly. "Thanks for the talk."

"Promise you'll talk to him." Paige said to Tye as he placed a kiss on her cheek. "Promise, Tye." she asked him again.

"It's not going to happen straight away but I'll talk to him, see you later." Tye said leaving the kitchen.

"Look after yourself and bring that girlfriend of yours for dinner one night, okay."

"Okay."

When Brianna heard Tye say goodbye, she quickly hide herself in the guest toilet downstairs, to try and avoid having to comfort her brother on his way out.

Once he went out through the front door, Brianna left the guest toilet and when straight to meet her mom in the kitchen, when she saw he mom, she hugged her straightaway.

"I didn't hear you come it." Paige said.

"I heard everything you and Tye spoke about."

"He's still upset." Paige said to her.

"But from the way you spoke to him, I'm sure he won't be upset for too long."

"Just try and keep things the way he wants, okay. Don't let Jason come round here for a while, at least until his ready to let bygones be bygones."

"Okay, I just hope they can get it done soon because Jason and I have made it official between us today and I'm so happy right now mama, it's finally happened." Brianna said feeling love-struck.

"I'm happy for you too sweetheart." Paige said with a smile on her face.

"Thanks mama." Brianna gave her another hug.

 **Chapter Ten**

Monday morning Jason got up earlier than usual and got a bus to work, Tye began to feel the effects of Jason's absence when he got up late for work that morning.

To avoid Tye, Brianna got into the shower for work that morning, after she heard him leave downstairs.

Mondays were the busiest day in the courier company and because everything that came through on the weekend needed to be delivered on Monday or else a back-log would be created for the rest of the week and extra hours would need to worked throughout the night and the rest of the week.

Jason got to work a little earlier and started his shift before Tye got there; he wanted to get most of his assigned deliveries done that day so he could spend some time with Brianna that evening, since Chloe was back that afternoon and Brianna would go past the apartment after work to see her best friend.

Brianna had her breakfast and left the house with Paige and got to work safely too, during her lunch break she received first a call from Chloe telling her that she was back and couldn't wait to see her that night, later on she got a call from Jason straight after telling her he couldn't wait to see her that night too.

"I wish I was next you right now. I want to kiss you so bad." Jason said over the phone.

"Me too, but you know Chloe's back now."

"And?"

"We going to be all over each other tonight." Brianna told him.

"I can see I'm going to have to start sharing you with her."

"I guess so."

"And I guess if I want to spend more time with you, I'd better get Tyrel's digits and give him a call once in a while to come around and pick her up so we can be alone."

"I'm sure you won't have to go that far to be alone with me, I mean, Chloe's going to give us some time to spend together, she's excited about us." Brianna said.

"I'm just kidding, I wouldn't call Tyrel for anything, I'm capable of coming up with ways to spend time with you alone. Listen I have to go, see you later, okay."

"Okay, bye." Brianna hung up, she finished her sandwich she bought for lunch and then went back in once her lunch break was over.

Brianna left work at around 5pm and headed straight to see Chloe, she arrived at Chloe's at 5:40pm and changed into some more comfortable clothes, which Chloe had given her to wear.

"Oh, I really missed me you." Chloe said giving her a hug while they seat facing each other her bed, "Wait her, I've got something for you." Chloe said feeling excited, then she got up from her bed and took a small red box out of her closet and then handed it to Brianna.

"What is it?" Brianna asked feeling delighted.

"Open it." Chloe said anxiously, sitting back in her spot on the bed.

Brianna opened the box and removed from it a plain 9ct gold infinity necklace.

"Do you like it?" Chloe asked her.

"I love it Chloe, this must have cost a lot of money."

"I got it because my aunt said to me that, that symbol represents forever and it sort of reminded me of you and I, and how I want us to be like this forever. BFF's till we old and grey and bragging and sagging, I thought it would be a nice gift, coz let's face it, those BFF necklaces we've had for years are a bit rusty and out of fashion."

"Thank you, I'm going to wear this every single day, I love it." Brianna said.

"Here let me put it on for you" Chloe said moving behind Brianna on the bed. "Gold suits you" Chloe said after she was done putting on the necklace.

"So how was San Francisco?"

"It was a learning experience as always; I got to do a lot of hair with Aunt Martha and I loved every minute of it. She also surprised me this morning by telling me that she's going to be paying for my studies in beauty school, can you believe that?" Chloe shared the joyful news with Brianna.

"Wow Chloe, that's fantastic, I am so happy for you." Brianna said amiably.

"I know right, but I told her that I'm still going to look for a job, maybe at a salon as an intern while I study, just so I don't lose that drive to get to where I want to be, you know, I also want to gain experience seeing hair being done in Chicago because people in San Francisco are different, when it comes to hairstyles or even fashion as a whole."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but now tell me something, you and Jason are official now, right?"

"Yeah, since yesterday."

"I am so excited I can't wait to see you two together when he gets home. We are most definitely going to be together forever now seeing that you with him and all."

"If life keeps things the way they are."

"Life will be good to you my friend, but you know something else?" Chloe said.

"What?"

"Now that you with my brother, you seriously got to start considering going on the pill, since this relationship isn't going to be anything like the first one you had."

"We've only just started!"

"Yeah I know, but you both have known each other long enough, there's not much to talk about, trust me before you know it, both of you will be ripping the clothes out of each other's bodies and will be climbing on top of each other in bed none stop." Chloe said theatrically, demonstrating some aroused body gestures.

"Chloe! Do you realize it's your brother you talking about." Brianna said trying to bring her back don't to earth.

"Yeah I know, I need to see Tyrel, but you still need to think about what I said."

"I will when the time comes."

"Oh, I almost forgot, I got you a top while I was there too, let me get it" Chloe said going for her suit case.

"You haven't unpacked yet?" Brianna asked her.

"Nah, I was too lazy to do that, plus I slept the whole day away, here it is." Chloe said once she searched and found the sexy, slim and backless denim top that had a zipper right down the middle.

"Thanks Chloe." Brianna said sounding slightly unsure about the gift top.

"I know it's not what you used too, but at least it isn't a crop top, coz I was close to choosing one just like mine, you can wear it with anything, Jason's going to love it on you, trust me."

"If you say so, but thanks, I'm feeling spoiled today." Brianna told her.

A few minutes later Jason announced he was home and that he had bought some Chinese take-outs.

Chloe came out the bedroom first and gave him a quick hug and a kiss then took the food from him and went straight into the kitchen to serve some of it up.

Brianna soon followed and stood in the hall way with Jason after Chloe had left for the kitchen.

"Aren't you guys going to kiss and greet each other or something?" Chloe said curiously peeping her head out the kitchen door.

"Not with you standing there." Jason told her.

"Okay, let me get back to dishing up the food while you two love birds fondle with each other in my absence." Chloe said getting back to the kitchen.

"Hi." Jason greeted Brianna with a smile.

"Hi. How was your bus trip back home today?"

"I survived it quite well, can't say I didn't miss driving the car, but knowing that you'd be here when I got home, made the journey back here pleasant." Jason said gazing at her. "Now I'm ready for that kiss I've been craving for."

Brianna moved closer to Jason and but her arms around his neck then drew his lips touch hers, giving him a welcoming tender sweet kiss when Jason lifted her feet up from the floor as they continued kissing.

"Dinners served!" Chloe called out from the kitchen and they both made their way to have some dinner.

"That's a nice necklace Bri." Jason said when he noticed it.

"Chloe bought it for me."

"It's really nice Chloe." Jason said to Chloe in kitchen.

"Just a little gift for my BFF, you know." Chloe said.

"Where's dad?" Jason asked Chloe.

"He dropped me back home after the airport and said he was going back to work, his probably just stuck in some traffic or having dinner somewhere, you know how he is on a Monday after losing some money over the weekend." Chloe said.

"Did he tell you that he lost some last night?" Jason asked her.

"He didn't have to from the looks of him this morning; let's talk about something else, we'll deal with dad when he gets home. So, Jason did you see Tye this morning?" Chloe asked him.

"Yeah, did you?" Brianna asked too, when they all dug into their take-outs.

"No, I think he ran late, plus I decided to get to work a little earlier this morning just so I didn't have to come across him, coz let's face it, he wouldn't want to look at me even if I was painted in gold at this point." Jason said.

"Tye's just being all manly and stuff, he'll come around." Chloe said.

"I hope you right Chloe." Brianna said.

"If he doesn't come around, I'm going to drive him crazy whenever I come around your house and his there." Chloe said.

"If you do that, he'll probably tell you to get out and stay out too." Jason said.

"Then I'll just have to make sure that 's is around." Chloe said and they all laughed lightly.

"It's really nice having you back, sis." Jason said to her afterwards and they continued enjoying their meal.

It was getting late and Mike was still out, Chloe called Tyrel and asked to see him while Jason and Brianna sat in the sitting room snuggling up to each, watching some TV.

When Tyrel arrived, he texted Chloe to let her know that he was waiting for her in the car downstairs, Tyrel stayed in the car and watched as Jason, Brianna and Chloe walked towards him, in the same car one that Uncle John had borrowed him since the graduation after party.

Chloe gestures to Tyrel to roll down the front passengers windows when she was close enough to the car because she wanted to tell him something.

"Hey, aren't you gonna jump in?" Tyrel asked her.

"I am but before I do, I need to ask you for a little favour." Chloe said to him.

"What is it?" Tyrel asked her.

"It's late and I need to take my girl home. Can we drop her off before we go to where we supposed to be going?"

"You want me to drop her off at Tye's house, is that what you saying?"

"Yeah? Please." Chloe pleaded.

"Okay, I'll do it for you, just because I've been missing you alright, let's go." Tyrel said.

"Okay. Bri, let's go." Chloe said walking around the car and jumping into the front passenger sit, giving Tyrel a kiss on the cheek for being so nice.

"I guess I'll see you maybe before the weekend" Brianna said.

"Depends on how long I can keep myself away from you" Jason said pulling her close to him in an embrace, "I wish you didn't have to go, especially with him."

"It's late, we have no choice. Tye needs to see me at home just in case he starts thinking that you and I are trying to provoke him by staying out late." Brianna said moving back a little and looking up at Jason.

"You're right, look after yourself, okay." Jason said to her.

"I will."

Jason touched her face gently and gave her a starry-eyed kiss then watched her take the a few steps to the car.

He waved goodbye to her and Chloe and watched them drive off, once the car was out of sight, he went back into the apartment.

"Bye Bri, I'll see you sometime this week, okay." Chloe said once they reached Brianna's house and she was standing outside the car.

"Okay bye, thanks for the ride Tyrel." Brianna said politely.

"No prob." Tyrel responded.

"Bye." Chloe said as she and Tyrel drove off and Brianna waved back.

Three weeks went pasted and Jason and Tye still hadn't seen each other at work. Jason tried to make contact with Tye several times by sending him a text, telling him that he was sorry and that he wanted to work things out, but Tye would always ignore his efforts.

Brianna too continued avoiding her brother every morning by always making sure that when the coast was clear of him, before she made a move out of her bedroom or the bathroom, just because she didn't want to come face to face with the only person who didn't accept her relationship with Jason.

Some nights however, she would caught a glimpse of him when she'd come home after being dropped off by Jason whenever Mike's car was available, but they both avoided talking to each other and over the past few weeks Jason and Brianna spent a lot of time together at the apartment by themselves, whenever Chloe would go out for the night with Tyrel and Mike would spend a little time with them and later on go to his room.

When they were alone, the two would just cuddle up together and watch some TV shows with popcorn or even spend time just talking about everything.

Tye began to feel the loneliness inside when Brianna made it obvious that she didn't care anymore about what he thought with regards to her and Jason's relationship and it happened on one specific Saturday night, after she had come home from a date with Jason.

Tye was in the sitting room when Brianna walked in with a bright smile on her face and when she saw Tye sitting there looking at her, she wiped the smile off her face and went straight up to her bedroom.

Tye felt like he had pushed his sister already too far from him and he needed to get things back to the way they were before, even if it meant that he had to swallow a massive pride pill down his throat, so Sunday morning Tye texted Jason and asked him to come over his house while Paige and Brianna went to church.

Jason was a little surprised to see Tye text him so early in that morning saying.

Need to talk to you, please come pass my crib?

And Jason replied back to Tye text saying.

▷ Be there in 15min

Jason walked over to Tye's house that morning, when he got there he knocked at the front door and in a less than a minute Tye opened it and allowed him to come in.

"Hey man." Tye said in an uncomfortable low toned voice.

"Hey." Jason greeted him back.

"Come on in." Tye invited him in.

Jason felt as though he hadn't been inside the house for a year, once he walked in, he stood at the entrance and waited for Tye. Tye showed him the way to the sitting room and he followed him, then Tye took a sit on the 2 sitter couch while Jason sat at the end of the 3 sitter couch that faced the TV set.

They sat in silence for a moment while Tye tried to gather some words to say to him.

"So—Jason, the reason why I asked you to come here is because, I've been thinking. I've been thinking about a lot of things, you know, about you and my sister, I admit that I was angry at first when I saw y'all outside that night because I wasn't expecting to see you and her that way..." Tye let a sigh and then continued "...for the last couple of weeks, I've been letting my anger and the insecurities I have about my sister get the best of me, I know you've said that you were sorry and texted me a couple of times too, but I've been so ignorant." Tye said rubbed his forehead with one hand while Jason listened attentively and took in his words. "I've seen my sister smile whenever she's came through that door after she'd been out with you and every time she's seen me sitting here looking at her, she given me a this serious glowering look before she'd go upstairs to her bedroom. I'm starting to feel like we're becoming each other's worse enemies and I don't want that to happen. I want to be able talk to my sister again and I know for a fact that the only time that's gonna' happen, is when you and I are cool with each other." Tye put his feeling across to Jason and lied his cards on the table.

"So, how do you want to do it?" Jason asked him.

"Want to clear the air between you and me and say that, I'm sorry that I've been acting like a fool. You and I man, we've been through a lot together and we've had each other's back for years, I can't throw away those years just because of my pride." Tye said standing up and feeling a little emotional, "What do you say to me and you starting over." he offered his hand to Jason.

"Huh, I say yes, I've been waiting for this day to come." Jason said while standing up from where he was sitting, he accepted Tye's hand shake then pulled him close for a bro hug.

"But for real though Jason, when it comes to Bri, it's gonna take me some time getting used to both of you. You're welcome back in this house but don't be going up into her bedroom and be kissing all over in front of me, alright." Tye put down some boundaries.

"I wouldn't do that even if you didn't ask, that night outside..."

"Let's just forget about it, alright." Tye prevented Jason from finishing his sentence.

"Alright, so what do we do now?" Jason asked.

"I say let's go out and grab a bite."

"No plans with Lucinda today?"

"We fighting, but I'll tell you all about that over the munchies, let's go, you can drive us." Tye said grabbing the keys from the key holder and passing then to Jason.

Brianna and Paige couldn't believe their ears when they heard Jason and Tye laughing out loud when of both them walked into the house while mother and daughter were in the kitchen getting lunch ready, Brianna and Paige looked at each other surprisingly stunned.

"It sounds like Jason and Tye." Brianna whispered to Paige.

"Sounds like they've finally worked things out." Paige whispered back.

"I wonder if I should go and see what's happening." Brianna said.

"Go." Paige persuaded her.

Brianna walked out of the kitchen, went past the dining room into the entrances hallway then she reached the sitting room and found Jason and Tye watching some NBA highlights, both of them stood up and looked at her just as soon as she walked in.

"Hi Bri." Jason greeted her first.

"Hi Jason. Hi Tye. What's going on here?" Brianna asked looking for more facts.

"Jason and I are in talking terms again." Tye replied feeling a little discomfited in his sister's presences.

"Well, that's great news; does that also mean that you accept us dating?" Brianna asked him anxiously.

"Yeah." Tye replied back to his sister and her eyes filled up with tears

Tears of joys filled her eyes as she was felt delighted to hear her brother say those words she wanted to hear so much since day one.

Brianna walked towards Tye and gave him a sound hug; Paige soon walked into the sitting room and caught up with the warm and loving affair that was taking place between siblings, she looked up and smiled at Jason and he smiled back joyfully too.

 **Chapter Eleven**

Brianna and Jason had been dating for a few months and they grew further and further in love with each other with each passing day and everything went back to how they used be between Tye and Brianna, in fact, their sibling relationship grew even stronger when Tye came up with the idea to have bowling nights between couples, where he, Jason, Brianna and Lucinda would go out every Monday night and compete against each other.

Chloe was always invited to come along, which she did sometimes but Tyrel never pitched up, he always said he was too busy running errands for Uncle John, plus Tye was still considered a washout and it wouldn't be to Uncle John's liking if he heard that his nephew was chilling with someone like Tye Johnsons.

Chloe started going to beauty school and found a job at an ethnic hair salon through Tyrel's connections.

The salon was owed by one of Uncle John's girlfriends.

Chloe didn't want the job at first but then she took it as learning opportunity, to learn everything there was to learn about ethnic hair and how she could work with it, if she was ever faced with it someday.

Chloe was soon getting lots and lots more clients once she found her confidence and felt more comfortable about doing ethnic hair, she was turning out amazing hairstyles and she could do everything she was asked, and the more she did they better she earned more clients and more money.

Brianna was still working for the beverage depot as a shelve stoker and she was still putting in a lot of hard work, she loved working there and always went the extra mile by accepting additional tasks.

Her post soon changed to cashier though, once one of the managers saw she had potential and she too, began to earn and save a little more money each month towards getting going back to her studies.

Jason too got promoted from being a courier driver to becoming an administrative assistant in the same office site after he was called into the branch manager's office one early morning, Tye asked Jason what had been going on and Jason had no clue as to why he was being called to the manager's office too.

 _...Promotion Day..._

Jason sat waiting inside Mr. Bowen's office, the branch manager, feeling a little nervous and anxious at the same time.

A few minutes later Mr. Bowen, who was a tall and slightly overweight Caucasian male, in his mid-40's, came in apologizing to him for running a little late to a meeting he himself had arranged.

"It's okay really, I haven't been waiting here for too long." Jason said politely to him as he watched Mr. Bowen take off his jacket and scarf and taking his sit on his chair.

"So Jason, you're probably wondering why I called you in my office, right." Mr. Bowen said to him.

"Yes sir." Jason replied.

"Well, I called you here today to say that I have been looking at your work and I've been seeing what you've been putting out in turns of customer services and getting staff delivered on time. I can honestly say that I am happy with your work and I see that you've been doing this consistently for a long time." Mr. Bowen said looking at his employee file.

"Yes sir, I have." Jason agreed.

"The company as whole appreciates hard workers like yourself, and we believe that people such as you deserve an opportunity to grow within the company. Which brings me to the reason as to why I called you here? We have an opening within our administrative department in this branch and we need someone to fill that space, I've looked through a lot of the young employees working here and I think that you are the man for the job." Mr. Bowen said to Jason who was looking at him baffled. "So, what do say to that Jason, would you be interested in that sort of office job?"

"I–I would, yes sir, I would but I'd need to be shown a few things on how the whole system works around here."

"Don't worry about that, I'll make sure that you get the proper training and I'll also make sure that HR is notified of this new position, you'll be taken in and then they'll sort everything out with you."

"Okay."

"Well" Mr. Bowen said standing up from his chair, "I wish you all the best in your new post and I hope that you do just as well." Mr. Bowen walked around and shook Jason's hand.

"Thank you for considering me for the position." Jason said shaking Mr. Bowen's hand.

"Dedication pays off." Mr. Bowen said to Jason as they stepped out of his office.

Jason only managed to share the news with Tye after work, when both of them were in the locker room getting dress to go home after they handed the keys to the vans over.

"Wow man, that's great." Tye said feeling genuinely happy for Jason.

"And I thought I was in trouble." Jason said.

"You know what that means though, right." Tye said to him.

"What?"

"You'll be getting some extra Benjamin's, man, which also means that I can borrow some from you in larger quantities too now." Tye said making a joke.

"Ah, good one Tye." Jason said to him.

Jason shared the good news with Brianna when he got home from work, just after he and Tye drove home and Brianna felt really proud of him.

It was sleepover weekend at Chloe's place and Chloe and Tyrel had another fight over the week, when she caught him talking to some girl outside the salon while he was parked outside waiting on for her because she had called him to come past and pick her up after work.

Chloe was feeling a little insecure and her self-esteem that was usually so high, dropped considerably. Jason and Tye had basketball that cold weekend so Chloe wasn't really stealing any love time between Jason and Brianna.

Brianna felt sorry for her best friend so she decided to try and cheer her up by getting Chloe her favorite chocolate ice-cream in a tab.

"I know what will cheer you up." Brianna had an idea that always cheered Chloe up, when she turned down the ice-cream in the bedroom.

"What Bri." Chloe said still feeling down.

"Let's have this ice-cream just like the old times" Brianna said.

"You want to do that?"

"Come on it will be fun" Brianna said.

"Okay, let's change."

"Okay, let's do it."

Brianna and Chloe changed into some swimsuits and made their way to the bathroom with some towels, spoons and the ice-cream tab. Chloe ran a hot bubble bath while Brianna lite some candles around them in the bathroom to make their surroundings more relaxing, once the bath was full they both got into it on either side and put the ice-cream on wooden bath caddy which separated both of them.

"This is such a great idea." Chloe said sounding relaxed as they both sat facing each other in the bath while they shared the ice-cream and surrounded with burning candles in the bathroom.

"I'm glad you think so. You got something in mind?" Brianna asked.

"I just can't understand why he has this effect on me, I mean; I could easily dump him instead of fighting with him all the time but I just can't."

"Did you catch them doing something when you walked out?"

"I caught them flirting with each other."

"Flirting!" Brianna seemed bemused,

"Flirting is bad for someone like Tyrel, Bri, he gives into these women too easily and these women love a man like him."

"Have you spoken to him tonight?"

"His phoned a couple of times today, before you got here, saying that his sorry and he said to me that he's going to be in a studio recording or something for the whole night."

"And you think his lying?"

"Of course he is, but then, oh I don't know, I'm confused, he confuses me." Chloe said pulling a face while digging in for some more ice cream.

"I get you." Brianna backed Chloe's state of mind.

"Does Jason ever confuse you?" Chloe asked Brianna.

"Not really, just sometimes." Brianna said

"What does he do?" Chloe asked curiously.

"It doesn't have a lot to do with what he does but everything to with what he hasn't done yet."

"You leaving me in suspense here, tell me." Chloe said to her with a mouth full of ice-cream.

"His your brother, I don't feel comfortable talking about it." Brianna shrugged her shoulders.

"About what? Sex? I don't mind, really I don't, and we both mature enough, right? So just go right ahead and say it, is he weird in bed or something?" Chloe said.

"No, not at all, I mean I wouldn't know because we still haven't done anything like that."

"You're telling me that you're still a virgin!" Chloe was stunned.

"Yeah, come on Chloe you'd be the first to know if I wasn't anymore."

"I thought you we're waiting for the right time to tell me that you weren't, I mean, you and Jason have spent a lot of alone time in this apartment and during that time you guys haven't done it yet?"

"No, which is really confusing me because I thought alone time meant, let's do the other stuff, you know, I haven't even been inside his bedroom yet."

"What! Have you told him you're a virgin yet?"

"No, I haven't."

"Have you tried talking to him about it or tried to instigate something between the two of you?"

"I'm not sure I want to talk about it, it's a little embarrassing for me and when it comes to instigating it, I don't know where to start."

"You don't know how to instigate sex?" Chloe asked with an arched brow.

"Come on Chloe, you know your friend here doesn't have much experience in that department." Brianna said rolling her eyes at Chloe and proceeded in putting the empty ice cream tab with the spoons on the bathroom floor.

"Well, if you want, I'm willing to help you out with that." Chloe offered a helping hand.

"What, you want to help me get into bed with your brother?" Brianna asked uncomfortably.

"No, your boyfriend." Chloe said evidently. "Are you up for it?"

"I don't know, I guess so." Brianna said shyly.

"Okay,so, here's what's going to happen, I'm going to help you get dressed into something really hot and cute tonight and then when he comes home tonight, I'm going straight to bed. Then you need to like ask him to chill with him in his bedroom for a while and then while you guys are chilling, you need to kiss him, but kiss him really hard and have your hands all over him, okay?" Chloe said indicating downwards.

"Okay." Brianna listened attentively to Chloe.

"Once you've established that and you can hear his breathing has changed to a more deep and rapid pace, you tell him these words, but you have to look at him and say. 'I. Want. You' and just like that, he'll get the message you're trying to put across to him."

"Just like that." Brianna repeated.

"Yeah, trust me, some guys just need you to tell them what you want, others like Tyrel don't need much convincing, all I ever have to do if I want some from him is get undress in front of him and that's, that." Chloe said laying back in the bath tab.

"Wow." Brianna followed suit.

"Exactly, but you know something Bri?" Chloe reflected under the bubbles.

"What?" Brianna said feeling calm and relaxed under the bubbles as well.

"Forget about what I said and just let things happen between you and Jason. When you both are ready it's going to happen naturally, and when it does, it going to be magical, so don't think about it too much or get yourself confused about him not wanting to have sex with you yet."

"Your right, I won't." Brianna agreed.

The two sat in the bath for another relaxing half an hour, then got out and went straight to Chloe's bedroom where they both got dress into their long sleeve winter pajamas and got into bed to watch a romantic comedy movie that was playing on the TV set in Chloe's bedroom, Brianna made some popcorn for them and they set quietly watching the movie until they both fell asleep unknowingly.

Brianna woke up when she felt Chloe's head moving on her abdomen, Chloe was adjusting he head on Brianna's tummy trying to make herself more comfortable, when Brianna was a little more awake, she reached for the remote that was next to her on the side pedestal and switched off the TV, then she adjusted the pillows and covers next to her on the bed and gently stimulated Chloe to move onto them whilst trying her hardest not to completely wake her up.

Once Chloe was tucked in and sound asleep, Brianna got out of the bed, picked up the popcorn bowl and headed to the kitchen, shutting the door of the bedroom behind her slowly and as quietly as possible.

When she got to the kitchen she washed up the bowl and the glasses and put them on the dish rack, once she was done, she looked at the time on the kitchen clock and it was already 10pm, then she wondered if Jason had already come in and gone straight to bed, she grasped a glass of juice from the fridge, drank it and then washed the glass too before she switched off the kitchen light and headed back to the bedroom.

As she was walking back to Chloe's bedroom, she was caught by surprise when Jason grabbed her from behind, with one arm wrapped around her waist and one hand covering her mouth.

"Shh" Jason whispered in her ear softly.

Brianna was breathing rapidly at that point when Jason turned her around to face him.

"I thought you were asleep." Brianna whispered to him.

"I heard you in the kitchen after I had my glass of warm milk. I saw you do the dishes, drinking the juice and turning off the light. I wanted to surprised you."

"What time did you get here?"

"9:30, I've missed you all day." Jason gazed at her as she stood facing him with her back against the wall.

"Let's talk in your bedroom." Brianna suggested.

"You wanna see my bedroom?"

"Can I?"

"Sure." Jason agreed and showed her the way.

He opened the door to his bedroom for Brianna and she went in, once inside, he shut the door and switched on one of the side lamps next to his bed which allowed Brianna to have her very first look around his room.

Jason's room was quite austere, it was neat and tidy and most of the furniture was stained black wood, the room was painted in a steel blue color with a black stripe line running straight throughout, at mid-point from the ceiling to the floor and vice versa.

The walls were quite bare except, for a large Chicago bull's wall sticker that was placed right on the top center on his bed. There were two black side lamps each with white lampshades on top them, they each rested on one drawers black pedestals, placed on either side of a black wooden bed, there was a large ottoman PU leather chest storage box facing a black chest of chest of drawers which had a flat screen TV on top of it.

Brianna noticed that the only white piece of furniture in Jason's bedroom was the white built-in closet door; she also noticed that Jason had a picture of the two of them on top of one of the bedside pedestals, which brought a smile to her face.

"So what do you think of my bedroom?" Jason asked her taking a sit on the bed, which had navy blue and white comforter.

"It's tidy, tidier than I thought it would be, but really nice. The total opposite of Chloe's white furniture" Brianna said still standing by the door, feeling a little out of place.

"Uh." Jason smiled, "Come and sit down next to me." Jason patted a spot on his bed and Brianna took up his up his offer by taking a sit beside him on his bed which felt comfortable beneath her.

"So, how was tonight?" Brianna asked.

"It was cold and we lost. I think we're slacking a little, we just haven't been practicing a lot."

"There's always next time though, right."

"Yeah. What have you girls been up to tonight?"

"Nothing much, we just got into bath together and had ice-cream, then we tried watching a movie and fell asleep."

"You had a bath with my sister" Jason said sounding a little inquisitive while gazing at Brianna.

"In swimsuits." Brianna said to him.

"Oh, and did you guys have fun?"

"We just talked, Chloe's been feeling a little down."

"Over Tyrel?"

"Yeah." Brianna sighed.

"I've missed you today." Jason said softly when Brianna's eyes caught his.

He shifted closer to her in the bed, leaned over for a kiss. Brianna allowed him to kiss her momentarily and followed the same gentle approach to his kiss by kissing him back in the same slow and affectionate manner, she ran her hands through Jason's hair and gently tried to get him to position himself on top of her, when he stalled once he realized what Brianna was trying to do.

"What's wrong?" Brianna asked him.

"Nothing, it just feels a little different kissing you here. In my bedroom." Jason moved back to his sitting position and Brianna shifted from the side of the bed she was sitting and moved her legs to sit astride, facing him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his body while he supported her back with both his hands.

Jason kept his eyes focused on hers and allowed her to kiss him while she seductively moved her hips in teasing motion, slowly causing ever bit of his lower manly parts to awaken.

Brianna felt Jason's erection beneath her for a while and continued to kiss him.

Jason changed their position when he stood up with Brianna's legs still wrapped around him and gently turned and placed her on her back in the middle of the bed.

Lying beneath him, her legs were spread apart allowing Jason to lie between them.

The only thing that was separating them from having full on sex at that point was their long covering pajamas and Brianna's magic words.

Jason moved down and continued kissing her passionately while they both kept on with some pleasurable foreplay with neither taking their clothes off.

Brianna felt audacious and reached the bottom of Jason's long sleeve shirt and tried to taking it off but Jason stilled her hands and looked at her hesitantly while aroused and breathing heavily.

"I want to touch you without this in the way." Brianna said to Jason while tugging and suggesting to him to remove his shirt with lust written all over her face while she breathed profoundly beneath him, "I want you. I want you tonight, Jason" she said tenderly to him and her words went straight to Jason's ears and he did as he was asked.

He removed his shirt revealing his tight physic and Brianna's eyes stared directly at his dreamy abdomen area, she lifted herself from a lying down position to a kneeling down face to face with him and then she ran her hands from the top of his chest right to his last ab, feeling a little shy to go beyond the starting line on his maroon pajama pants.

When she looked back up at him, his gaze had darkened and he kissed her harder involving his tongue, he then traced soft light kisses up and down her neck before he returned to her mouth. Jason laid Brianna on top of the pillows and proceeded in removing her pants.

She felt both his hand go throughout the length of her legs until he reached for the bottom of her feet, revealing her pink low raised lady panties with side lace, he placed himself between her legs once more and kissed her fervently, and as they kissed he moved one of his hands underneath her long sleeve pajama top and gently capping and delicately teased her harden nipples, supporting his weight on his other arm, he then repeated the same teasing process on the other breast not fully exposing them into the light.

Brianna pleasurably raised her hips and arched her back upwards to Jason, welcoming each and every gentle stroked or tug Jason was giving to her, he then moved his hand slowly further down her body and touched her groin area where he felt the warmth and dampness of her mounting sexual desire through her panties by gently stroking his hand on her outer sex.

"Are you sure about this?" Jason paused to ask her.

"Yes." Brianna replied panting and Jason kissed her once more.

"Are you on the pill?" He asked.

"No, but I'm going on it next week." Brianna assured him.

"It's okay, I have some condoms." Jason said reaching for the top drawer next to his bed and retrieving a packet of condoms which he kept within arm's reach next to the bed. "Do you want to go under the covers?" He asked Brianna.

"Yeah." Brianna replied.

They both got off the bed for a short moment and Jason pulled the covers off the bed , Brianna made herself comfortable in the bed before Jason climbed back into it, covering them both and repositioning himself between her legs at the same time, which felt a little uneasy after she saw the packet of condoms.

"Are you okay? Your legs are a little shaky" Jason asked Brianna once he picked up on them.

"I'm fine, just go easy on me okay" Brianna said.

"It's been that long?"

"I-I guess so, yeah." Brianna said unsure of her own words.

Jason paused and analyzed the expression on Brianna's face after she had replied back to him while he was still on top of her, overlooking directly down at her face and soon he realized that she was hiding something from him when she broke eye contact with him and couldn't look at him straight in eyes and maintained her focus only on his chest.

"Bri, look at me" he said and Brianna obeyed, "You're not telling me something" Jason said as his gaze intensified on Brianna causing her to drop both arms on either side of her body and moving uncomfortably beneath him.

"Jason I'm, I'm still a virgin?" Brianna sighed and confessed and then waited for Jason's reaction.

Jason let out a big exasperated sigh and ran his tongue on his upper lip before he lowered his head in shame.

He then removed himself from lying between her legs and sat on the side of the bed with his back turned towards Brianna. To Brianna, Jason seemed disappointed to have heard her say that she was a virgin and she didn't know what to do to get any reaction from him, she reached for her pants on the floor and put them back on and then sat back on the bed with her legs crossed in front of her and looked down at her knotted fingers.

"Are mad at me Jason?" she asked him.

"No. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself." Jason said turning to face her on the bed, "I should've known better than to just try and rush you into doing something that you've never done before."

"I started it, so don't blame yourself over anything."

"Why haven't you told me before tonight?"

"I guess it's because we never got this far." Brianna said to him.

Jason sighed, "I'm so sorry Bri. I could've made this night the worst night of your life, if you wouldn't have had told me. I would've probably hurt you, and I couldn't live with myself if I did that." Jason said holding her hand.

"Hurt me Jason, you could never do that."

"I could've Bri, trust me when I say that" Jason inhaled deeply "I've never been with a virgin before, and tonight the energy we were both setting up for each wasn't for slow love making. I'm just glad you told me beforehand." Jason placed a kiss on her hand. "You're truly special, and I cherish that." He said smiling at her and then Brianna watched him put his shirt back on.

"But now that you know, we can still try again, right?"

"Some other time, maybe." Jason kissed her forehead and laid beside her on the bed.

"Why not tonight?" Brianna asked eager to repeat the whole pleasurable process.

"Because right now I just want you and me to lie here and fall asleep in each other's arms until the morning comes to wake us up." Jason said softly to Brianna and then gestured to her to lie down next to him on the bed.

Once she did, he pulled the covers on them and they both lied in silence for a while as Jason wrapped his arms around her and dug his nose in her hair, gently inhaling her sweet scent.

"Bri. Are you still awake?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yes" She responded.

"Turn around and face me, I want to tell you something." he said to her and she turned to face him.

"What is it?" Brianna said softly looking at him.

"I Love You." Jason said sincerely looking at her whilst gently brushing his knuckles on her face; Brianna laid still to registering every profound word he said to her.

"Jason." Brianna said overcome by emotion, "I love you too" Brianna said letting out a tear of joy.

Jason then wiped the tear from her face and kissed her softly before they both laid closer in bed, while looking at each other holding hands and smiling in the dark, until they eventually fell asleep.

The next morning Chloe woke up and realized that Brianna wasn't asleep next to her; she got off the bed and put on her fluffy pink slippers and headed out of her bedroom to go and find her, the apartment was quiet and all the bedroom doors were closed shut, she went to the and sitting come dining room area to see if Brianna was there and she wasn't, then she moved to the opposite room, which was the kitchen and still she didn't find her, the toilet and bathroom doors didn't seem like they were in used because they were open.

Chloe walked right up to Jason's bedroom door and stared at it, thinking and asking herself if she should open the door and see what was behind it, but then she decided to against it just in case she'd walk into any awkward surprises.

Chloe walked away from the door and went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, before breakfast, as she left the bathroom and headed back to her room to put some face cream on, she saw Jason's door handle move like someone was trying to sneak out, when the door eventually opened, she saw Brianna come out with her backed turned.

Brianna got a shock when she realized Chloe was standing on the passage way watching her with her eyes almost popping out of her head and her mouth wide open, Chloe moved Brianna straight into her bedroom and shut the door.

"Oh my gosh, Bri, I can't believe I just caught you leaving my brother's room, like now in the morning! You and him, last night, it happened?" Chloe tried to get some sort of information from Brianna.

"Whoa Chloe, I just woke up, slow down with the grilling." Brianna said.

"Then tell me what happened, you left me here to sleep all by myself. There must be a good reason for that."

"Okay, I'll tell you what happened."

"Listening." Chloe said while she and Brianna took a sit on her bed and Chloe was all ears.

"Nothing happened." Brianna spilt the beans.

"What!" Chloe was stunned.

"We were close enough though, until my legs started shaking and my nerves got the best of me and I told him I was a virgin, then everything stopped."

"What!" Chloe said again.

"And then we fell asleep. Right after he told me he loved me." Brianna tried to make it seem like it still pleasing.

"What man in the world gets turned off by a virgin?"

"He wasn't turned off. He just said that he didn't want to hurt me, he said that he's never been with a virgin before."

"Oh. Then it was probably for the best, virgin's need a lot of patience." Chloe said thoughtfully "Are you hungry, I'm starving. Come on let's see what we can make for breakfast" Chloe changed the subject.

"I'll meet you in the kitchen" Brianna said to her then went on to wash her face and brush her teeth before heading to the kitchen to help Chloe out with breakfast.

They made some bacon, eggs and some flapjacks, and soon enough, Mike and Jason were awake shortly after they sniffed out the wonderful aromas that travelled throughout the apartment. Brianna and Chloe set the breakfast table and waited on Jason and Mike to join them, once they appeared they all set down and had breakfast together.

"So, did you sleep well Jason?" Chloe asked her brother when she noticed an exchange of engaging looks between Jason and Brianna.

"Yes I did Chloe, thank you." Jason said with a big smile on his face.

"Just checking, you seem so relaxed this morning." Chloe said.

"I had a great dream last night, that's all." Jason said looking at Brianna, who blushed at the table.

Later that Sunday afternoon, Brianna, Jason, Chloe, Tye and Lucinda went out to catch a movie together before the work week started again on Monday.

Jason dropped Lucinda first at her house, then Brianna and Tye at their house.

Brianna gave Jason a kiss on the cheek when she left the car and told him that she'd see him tomorrow. When Jason got home, Tyrel was parked outside his apartment, waiting on Chloe. Chloe rolled her eyes when she saw his car and then went up to him to find out what he wanted while Jason parked his car and then went upstairs to the apartment.

"What you doing here!" Chloe asked while she and Tyrel stood outside his car in the cold.

"I came here to show you what I've been working while I've been in the recording studio"

"I'm not interested in listening to anything!" Chloe said giving him a down stare while crossing her arms in front of her at the same time.

"You will be once you find out that it actually something I've been working on for you!""

"For me?"

"Yeah, I wrote and recorded something for you."

"Huh ,you lying, you probably just wrote something for some other girls you been seeing and I bet you've already played it to them a couple of times just so you could try and persuade them into having sex or giving you their number!"

"You know what Chloe; I'm getting tired of your fucking insecurities issues, alright! I came out here tonight to apologize for something that didn't even happen between me and a girl who tried to flirt with me. I came here to show you a piece of what I've been working on in the studio and all you doing is, standing there and mocking me, you know what! If you don't want to listen to it then it's fine by me!" Tyrel unlocked his car, opened the door and then got in, leaving Chloe standing outside with a sour look on her face.

"Ty wait" Chloe called out to him before he turned his car ignition on, she got into the front passenger seat and shut the door.

Tyrel looked pissed off and kept his eyes focused straight ahead. "I'm sorry" she said, "It's just that every time I see you talking with some other girl I just think you up to something" she continued.

"I told you the last time that I wasn't going to ever try to cheat on you again, I've asked you to trust me" Tyrel said turning to look at her.

"I know what you said but I just can't help it, I'm not with you 24/7 to know that what you're saying is true!"

"Well if you don't trust me then, why don't we just end this right here?" Tyrel said to her solemnly.

"You're dumping me?" Chloe asked him, feeling teary.

"No, I'm not, I don't want to, but."

"But what?" she wiped of a tear.

"I can't take this insecurity and jealously thing no more!"

"Then make me trust you again!"

"What do I have to do?"

"Well for starters you can start letting me go through your phone once in a while, and then when you come and pick me up at work, you can stay in the car and wait for me with the windows up."

"Is that it, is that all you need me do?"

"For now, yes." Chloe stopped crying, "I want us to be 100% honest with each other, that's all."

"But we are Chloe, it's just that you tend to let your imagination fly to high, sometimes. You just got to take it easy, coz when you come onto me like that, you just driving me away!"

"I'm sorry, I really am, it's just that I love you and I don't want to lose you to some big ass, big tits girl." Chloe shrugged her shoulders while talking to him.

"You're not going to lose me to some big ass or big tits girl, coz my eyes are only set on you, all right blondie." Tyrel said touching Chloe's face, "and I love you too" he continued and leaned over for a makeup, compassionate kiss.

"Let's hear what you've recorded." Chloe said once they parted away from their kiss.

"Alright." Tyrel switched on the CD player and played his hip pop lyrics to Chloe, she listened as he rapped about her hair, her eyes, her curves, her sweet smile and how happy she made him and soon she started jamming to the beat of the song.

Once the song was done she complemented Tyrel and thanked him for the song, with a trip to his bedroom and some hot steaming gratification sex.

 **Chapter Twelve**

Thanksgiving had arrived and so did the colder weather in Chicago, the Millers and the Johnsons had decided to do things a little different that year for Thanksgiving when they decided go out and watch Thanksgiving parade on State Street first that year and then went back to the Johnson's house to have their typical family Thanksgiving dinner, which like most families would involve the cutting of turkey.

Most of the prepping for the dinner was done by Brianna, Paige and Chloe the night before, so all they had to do once they got home was, put all the ingredients onto the stove and cook. Thanksgiving dinner was always hosted at the Johnsons house, ever since Paige hosted the Millers for the first time and decided to kept it that way for years, she loved seeing everyone together around the table talking, eating, laughing and just having a good time, when friends and family were gathered together, it always put a smile on her face.

Mike was always given the honors of cutting up the turkey, since he had lots more experience when compared to anyone else besides Paige.

"So, now that we all are here today, what are we going to do for Christmas this year?" Chloe asked while everyone was having dinner at the table.

"Christmas's a month away Chloe." Tye told her.

"Yeah, exactly my point." Chloe replied back to him.

"I think we should just do the same as last year, really." Paige said.

"Absolutely, we can all get together at the apartment and we can have it there again this year, last year was a lot of fun." Mike said.

"Yeah it was." Jason agreed.

"I knew I had to ask this tonight before it was too late." Chloe said.

"Too late for what exactly, Chloe?" Paige asked inquisitively.

"Well, Brianna and I were walking around the mall the other day and we came across a few these holiday brochures." Chloe said taking some brochures out of her bag and passing them around the table so everyone could have a look.

"What are these for?" Tye asked.

"I'll let Brianna tell us a little bit more about those, Bri." Chloe said getting Brianna to back her up on their idea.

"Okay, so, those are some holiday self-catering cabins that me and Chloe thought that perhaps we all could go to and spend Christmas together." Brianna gave a brief advertisement.

"And where exactly are these cabins?" Tye asked.

"They are like four hours away from here." Chloe said.

"You girls want us all to travel for four hours in the hefty cold weather in December to those cabins?" Mike asked.

"Come on, it will be so much fun, they have like a fireplace there and a Jacuzzi and we can take extra blankets, and the best of all this is that, we can all fit into one cabin and it's not that expensive." Chloe tried to persuade everyone.

"What do you mean we can all fit into one cabin?" Tye asked.

"They have like family sized cabins there." Brianna said.

"I think it will be fun to do something different like that for Christmas." Jason backed Brianna and Chloe's idea.

"See, we have one person on our side already" Chloe said.

"How are we going to pay for the stay there?" Paige asked.

"I am glad you've asked that because, Brianna has already worked out that the accommodation will cost each one of us $330 since we only plan on staying there for four nights."

"That's not bad." Mike said.

"Well, if we all willing to pay something towards the trip, I don't see why we shouldn't go." Paige said.

"Are you in mama?" Brianna asked Paige.

"Count me in." Paige said.

"Me too." Mike said.

"I'm already in." Jason confirmed.

"And what about you, Tye?" Chloe asked him.

"Can't expect me to let Y'all have all the fun now, so count me in." Tye said and Chloe went across to him and playfully squeezed his cheeks.

"Anyone for desert." Brianna called out and the Thanksgiving dinner ended with a blast.

At the end of the month Brianna and Chloe had arranged and paid for the whole Christmas holiday after everyone contributed their part, the only thing left to do was, to buy Christmas presents for everyone.

Tye's birthday came two days after Thanksgiving and Jason surprised him with two tickets for them to go and watch Chicago Bulls take on the Phoenix Suns, at the UIC Pavilion indoor sports arena on a Thursday night.

It was a heated game from the start and the Jason and Tye came in wearing their supporting gear. When the first long interval came Tye got up from his seat and went out to make a quick a call back to Lucinda, who by the looks of the ten missed calls he had on his phone, was desperately looking for him.

Jason stayed behind and waited for him to come back, while he waited, he watched as a young couple got engaged through the big center display screen in the center of the court.

When the young female said 'yes' to the proposal, everyone around him, including himself, put their hands together while the newly engaged couple kissed. After a short while Tye reappeared and asked Jason what was going on and Jason informed him of what had just happened, which didn't interest Tye very much.

Then the players came out again for the next part of game.

At the end, Chicago Bulls came out stronger and won the game, Jason and Tye were both satisfied with the results and talked about the awesome passes and dunks, when they were walking back to their car.

Tye suddenly noticed that he was talking to himself when Jason seemed very lost in his thoughts.

"Hey, you still with me, man." Tye said to him.

"Yeah, yeah."Jason replied.

"You seem a little distant."

"No I'm just thinking about something."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Nothing much, it's alright." Jason replied shaking his head. "Who did you have to call, back there?" Jason asked Tye.

"Lucinda, she said wants me to come over tomorrow night coz her mama's at church and she said she's got a little surprise for my birthday."

"Ooh, I bet you know what it is, don't cha."

"Ooh yes I do."

"So, I guess our Friday night hang-out isn't happening?"

"Not when Lucinda is in that sort of mood, plus it's not like you not going to enjoy spending some time with my sister."

"I can never get enough of Bri." Jason said smiling.

"Wipe that look of your face and take me home before you start saying things about my sister that I don't need to hear."

"Alright birthday boy." Jason said when he and Tye reached the car and got in.

On the way to the Johnson's house, Tye noticed that Jason was still keeping something locked inside his head when he wasn't even nodding to any of their favourite hip hop tunes in the car.

Tye turned down the volume and no reaction came from Jason..

"Jason." Tye called out to him.

"Yeah."

"Talk to me man, I've never seen you like this, if you got something to share, share it." Tye insisted.

"I'm just thinking about your sister, that's all."

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" Tye sounded anxious.

"I've just been thinking about how we've been talking about spending more time together."

"Y'all see each other almost every day, what more time do you two want to spend together."

"I'm thinking about, like, permanent time, like waking up in morning next to each and going to bed at night next to each other, you know what I'm saying."

"Wait, wait, wait a second and let me just try and understand what you trying to say right here, right now. Are you saying that you want to move in with my sister or are you saying that you want my sister to move in with you?"

"None of the above Tye, what I'm really trying to say is that, I want our own space, you know."

"You want to get your own place and move in with my sister?"

"Yeah, that's what I've been thinking about."

"Jason, you've only been with my sister for five months, five months" Tye emphasized using hid fingers.

"But we've known each other for years."

"Moving in together is like taking a big step, especially if you're not married and not that sure about each other."

"Did I just hear you correctly? Did you just say that Bri and I are not sure of each other?"

"Didn't really meant it, to come out like that Jason, I'm just saying that moving in together is a big thing."

"You know something Tye, I think you just afraid of letting go of your sister, you too comfortable with her living with you under the same roof."

"Not anymore, not since you started with this small talk about moving in together."

"But, think about it for a second Tye, I mean, people who are in a relationship will sooner or later live together."

"Well, let's just hope that with you and Bri, the moving it together will happen much later then sooner."

"Yeah." Jason said and Tye gave him a suspicious look while Jason continued driving with a smirk on his face.

"It's too soon, Jason" Tye said last.

Friday night came and Jason and Brianna dropped off Tye at Lucinda's house at around 7pm, just after he got a confirmation call from Lucinda telling him that he could come over.

Jason and Brianna had plans to go ice skating for the night, so after they dropped Tye off they continued with their plans.

Tye knocked on the Lucinda's door and she opened it for him.

"Happy belated Birthday, baby." Lucinda greeted him at the door, wearing a long blue silk robe with a blue and white panties and a matching bra.

"Is this my surprise?" Tye said once he shut the front door behind him and kissed Lucinda.

"Come with me" Lucinda took him by the hand and showed him to her bedroom, which was lite up with red fragranced candles that smelt like strawberries.

She pushed him onto the bed and began to seductively kiss him, she took of his clothes and left him naked on the bed and then she put the song 'Red light' by TLC and stripped naked in front of him too.

Tye began to feel aroused as he watched her dance and shake her butt in his face, then when he felt like she had teased him enough; he grabbed her by her legs and pulled her down on the bed facing him and had impassionate sex with her until he reached his climax, just under 15 minutes.

Tye laid in bed next to Lucinda catching his breath while Lucinda laid next to him, and kept her stare fixed on him.

"Did you like that?" Lucinda asked him.

"That was the best birthday present." Tye said still catching his breath while lying on his back with his head on a pillow.

"That wasn't your birthday present though."

"Really, then what is it?" Tye asked.

"Wait there, I'll bring it to you." Lucinda said getting off the bed naked and putting her blue silk gown on.

She walked to her closet and took out a white envelope then she switched on the side lamp closest to Tye before she handed the white envelope it to him.

Tye opened the envelope and found a strip of black and white imageries which made no senses to him.

"What is this?" Tye asked Lucinda with a confused look on his face.

"Look closer Tye." Lucinda said to him.

"I don't get it." Tye said.

"You see there." Lucinda pointed to a small object on the picture, "That's a baby, and that baby is inside me right now and he or she is yours." she said to him with a sweet smile on her face.

"I'm gonna be a baby daddy?" Tye said with a bitter taste in his mouth.

"That's your birthday present." Lucinda said to him.

"Shit!" Tye said getting off the bed.

"Shit! Is that what you have to say to me?" Lucinda began to fume.

"How the fuck did this happen!" Tye said getting dressed.

"Oh, let me see, we had sex, TYE!"

"But what about the pills you said, you was takin!"

"I wasn't taking any pills remember, we agreed on condoms and if I remember correctly, there was one night when you said you didn't want to use them."

"So I'm guessing that's when it happened, huh."

"I guess so!" She said to him, snapping her fingers at him.

"Shit Lucinda, I ain't ready for a kid yet." Tye said taking a sit on the bed trying to gain control of the situation.

"What are you tryin 'to say?" Lucinda asked him.

"I don't know. Does your mama know about it?"

"No, but if she has to find out about it she'll probably throw me out the house."

"Shit! Do you wanna keep it?"

"What sort of fucking question is that?"

"We can't raise a kid together, I mean, what the fuck do we know about raising a kid?"

"I can't believe you. I thought that would be happy, you've been saying shit like, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my days with you, you've just been lying to me!"

"I wasn't lyin' I meant every word I said to you!"

"You wanna know something, Tye. I thought you'd be different to all these niggas on the west side, turns out you just like them, all you want to do is fuck and forget about what happens after that, but you know what, I don't need you. I will find a way to take care of this child all by myself, just get the fuck out of my house!" Lucinda chased him out, "Get the fuck out my house and never come back, you piece of shit." she shut the door behind him and Tye stepped onto the pavement and gave Jason a call.

"Bri, I've got to take this, it's your brother." Jason told Brianna once they'd arrived at the ice rink and where just about to start skating.

"We've just got here, what does he want?" Brianna felt slightly bothered while holding the barrier on the side while inside ice.

"Let me just take this quickly, alright, wait right there for me and don't move." Jason said to her and took a few steps away from her to answer his phone.

"Yo." Jason answered.

"Where you at?" Tye asked him.

"I'm at the ice rink, what's going on?"

"Lucinda and I had a fight, she's told me to leave her house and now I'm outside sitting on the pavement and I can't really walk back home at this time of night."

"What you guys fighting about now?"

"I just found out that I'm going to be a baby daddy."

"What. Shit!" Jason was shocked to hear the news but then tittered on the phone.

"It ain't funny man, I'll fucking stressed out here, listen, are you going to be long? I'm getting cold."

"I'm sorry man I just can't imagine you being a daddy, but listen, I'm going to tell Bri that we need to leave, she's not going to be happy about it, but I'm sure she'll understand once she finds out that she's going to be an aunty soon."

"Alright man, I'll be waiting for you, bye."

"Bye." Jason hang up and walks to Brianna and informed her of what's been happen before they both left the ice rink and made their way back to pick up Tye at Lucinda's house.

"Well if she's pregnant with your child and she says that her mother's going to throw her out the house once she finds out about it, why don't you just let her move in with us." Paige said while Jason, Brianna and Tye all sat with her in the sitting room.

"Mama, we don't have enough room in this house."

"Nonsenses. I can always take your room and the two of you can take mine, there's plenty of space there to put a cot and a changing station."

"I'm sure we both can work something out between the two of us." Tye said.

"Tye, just do as mama's telling you to do, I mean, it would be nice having my niece or nephew close." Brianna added, "Plus let's face it, that side, of west side where she's living right now, isn't the best side to raise a child on her own at this point in time, she needs our support."

"Bri's right about that." Jason agreed with Brianna.

"It's gonna take some time to arrange all of this." Tye sighed feeling exasperated, "I really messed up this time." he said while shaking his head regretfully.

"Tye, a child is a gift from God, children come into our lives sometimes unexpectedly but we got to love them still, because they add value to our lives and teach us a lot of things about ourselves that we don't even know until they come. Your child will bring a lot of happiness and life into this house, so work things out between the two of you and tell her to come, she'll be welcomed here." Paige told him.

"You're going to be a daddy, my man." Jason said getting up from his seat and offering Tye some support.

"You'll be okay." Brianna said giving Tye a warm hug.

After all had been said and not yet done, Jason said goodnight to Brianna outside her porch by giving her a warm, slow and soft kiss to the mouth with his back turned towards the car where Tye was waiting on him to drive him back to his apartment that night.

"I don't know how I'm gonna to do it." Tye said to Jason when they were alone in the car.

"Being a daddy?"

"Living under the same roof with a pregnant Lucinda."

"You just going to have to take it one day at a time man, that's it." Jason told him.

"And here I was telling you last night that moving in was a big step, not even knowing that I'd be the first to do it."

"Yeah man, life is unpredictable, but you know what?"

"What?"

"At least it won't happen like tomorrow coz you still need time to change a few things around your house before she moves in, plus you can have a feel on how things will be between the two of you before she even moves in."

"What are you talkin' about, Jason?"

"Invite her to come and spend Christmas with us." Jason suggested.

"For four days?"

"Yeah, like that at least you can get an idea of how she looks like when she wakes up in the morning and goes to bed at night, you can maybe pick up on a few good and bad habits and shit." Jason tried to make the situation less uptight for his best friend.

"You know what, that doesn't sound so bad, it sounds like a good plan for getting myself ready for what's about to come my way." Tye said contemplatively.

"That's the only way forward from here." Jason said and Tye nodded his head in agreement as they continued driving down the road.

On Saturday morning when Brianna got up, Tye had already left the house and she wondered where he could've gone to so early since his bedroom door was open and his bed was all made up and there was no sight of him downstairs.

Since Brianna began to work as a cashier she was given back her weekends and had to work only from Mondays to Friday from 9am till 5pm, so she took her Saturday mornings easy and always sent a good morning message to Jason once she was fully awake.

Once Jason received her text message in the morning, he'd call her and then the two would make plans for the day, but that particular Saturday Jason had other things to do in Chicago central, while Mike and Chloe were busying backing a suitcase for Mike's Las Vegas trip, because one of his friends was about to get married for the third time, and Mike was invite to go to the wedding with all accommodation expenses paid by his friend Fred who really wanted him there at any cost.

Jason took that opportunity to go out and hunt down an engagement ring, since he had been given a thirteenth cheque and had some money saved up from previous months of saving.

Jason took with him $1800 cash that he had budgeted for a ring and went out to search for a perfect ring he thought would best describe Brianna.

After searching for hours, with any luck, he began to grow a little frustrated when he walked in and out of different jewelry stores not being able find the perfect ring for her and just when he was about to give up his search, he found the closest one to the one he was looking for and stared at for a few minutes through the display glass trying to find out what the price was.

"Can I help you young man?" A middle aged, and somewhat grey haired woman asked him politely.

"Uh, yes, that ring, can I see it, please." Jason pointed to an 20k white gold Floral curvature ring with had a white round cut diamond in the middle and had little accent diamonds going around the entire ring. The one thing that sold the ring to him the most, was the symbol of infinity shaped on the side.

"Of course you can, let me just get the key and I'll be with you shortly." said the sales woman who then walked to retrieve the key to open the glass display cabinet and then returned right away to assist Jason.

"Now, let's have a look at that ring." she said taking out the tray in which the ring was set on.

She took out the ring and handed it to Jason so he could have a closer look at it too and Jason held the ring up gently with his fingers and studied it closely.

"Is it for someone special?" The sales woman asked him.

"Yes, someone really special. How much is this ring?" Jason asked.

"Let me I have a look and see?" The lady said putting on her reading glasses after Jason handed back the ring to her.

"It's $1800." The woman said.

"Wow, that's not bad at all, it's really nice, but it would be prefect if it had a different stone set in the middle." Jason said.

"What sort of stone are you referring to?"

"My girlfriend really likes the color purple and I've been looking everywhere for a ring that's not only beautiful, but a ring with a purple stone in it."

"Oh I see what you mean, but I'm quite sure that this store can help you get the exact ring you're looking for." The sales woman informed him.

"Really, when?" Jason sounded enthusiastic.

"Well that depends on the time in which you'd like to get engagement with the young lady because to recreate a ring usually take up to, three to six week to make depending on how busy we are and depending on the availably of the particular stone that you want."

"I want to keep the ring the same and just change the center stone to that purple stone."

"Okay, let's have a seat and I'll explain everything to you." The lady evoked Jason.

Jason and the lady took a seat at an available desk and chair at the corner of the jeweler store and discussed the process in which the ring would go through, the lady also informed him of all the different types of purple stones that where available and explained the price in value for each of them.

Jason chose to go with a purple sapphire stone for the ring and the lady then drew up an estimated quote for the ring which came out a little more expensive that then the original ring price, the new price for the ring changed to $2600 due to the labor that had to be put into it and short time notice.

Jason accepted the quote and said he would return on Sunday morning to pay in the full amount in cash so the jewelry store could start the process on the ring on Monday, since by time he and the sales woman were done, the store had already closed.

Jason left the store feeling happy with the choice that he had made and headed back home to add up the money with the rest of his $800 which was at the apartment in his closet.

Tye was on his own little mission that Saturday too, we woke up early that morning and went to get some really pretty flowers and chocolate for Lucinda and went straight to her house to try and make things right between them.

He got to Lucinda's house just after 10am when her family was already up, having breakfast. Tye walked to the door and knocked and was surprised when the door when he was answered by Lucinda's father Mr. Brown.

Mr. Brown was never at home, ever since Tye knew Lucinda, he was always on the road driving a truck all across the country and would only make it home, ever so often.

Tye stood motionless for a while in front of the door and stared at Mr. Brown, who stood at 6 feet tall and had a little beer stomach on him, his complexion was darker than the average African American skin, and he had a few grey hairs on his head and had somewhat an , unapproachable look to him.

"Can I help you, boy?" Mr. Brown asked him, stepping outside.

"I—my name is Tye Johnson, I'm lookin for Lucinda" Tye said trying to be sturdy while Mr. Brown stared at him intimately.

"Are you her boyfriend?" Mr. Brown said looking down at the flowers and chocolates Tye held in his hands.

"Yes sir." Tye answered straight away.

"Lucinda!" Mr. Brown called out to his daughter.

"Yes daddy." Lucinda answered her father and came to the door, and when she saw Tye, she gave him a sad and down stare.

"Is this boy, your boyfriend?" Mr. Brown asked her and Lucinda was silent for a moment making Tye feel and look a little anxious.

"Yes daddy, he is." Lucinda said finally.

"Alright then, it's good to meet you son." Mr. Brown shook Tye's hand, "You can come inside if you want." He invited him in.

"No, it's alright, I'm just here to give these to Lucinda, I'm not goin' to be long." Tye said politely turning down Mr. Brown's invitation.

"Alright then, maybe next time, good to meet you son" Mr. Brown said to him, then turned and went back into the house.

"Likewise, Sir." Tye said to Mr. Brown while he walked off.

"What you doing here?" Lucinda asked him.

"I bought these for you." Tye said handing her the flowers and chocolate.

"A little early for valentines, don't you think." Lucinda said taking the gifts.

"I came to talk to you about last night; can we talk in the car?"

"Let me just put these inside, I'll be right with you." Lucinda said to him.

She went inside and put the flowers in the vase and the box of chocolates in her bedroom then walked back outside to talk to Tye, when he showed her the way to the car.

"So, what you want to talk about." Lucinda asked trying to make things snappy between the two of them.

"I didn't know your daddy would be around today."

"He surprised us this morning, but he's not staying for long."

"Okay. Lucinda listen. I thought a lot about, you telling me that you're pregnant and all. I'm sorry for trippin' on you like that last night. I wasn't expecting such a huge blow."

"Then why did you come here for ,Tye, what do you want to tell me." Lucinda said feeling slightly annoyed.

"I want to tell you that, I want you to have my baby and I want you to move in with me if you're mama's going to have a problem with having my baby at her house, that's what I want to tell you."

"I" Lucinda thought for a moment, "What did you just say?"

"I said if you want to keep the baby. I'm going to support your decision."

"You've suddenly chanced you're mind in a couple of hours from not wanting this baby inside me to wanting it, have you been buying and smoking some kind of shit around here?"

"No, I've just been given some good advice." Tye said and Lucinda gave him a settle look. "Have you told your folks about it?" Tye asked her.

"No, I haven't, I wasn't going to tell them until I knew what to do."

"You want to talk to them now?" Tye asked her.

"No, it's still early days."

"Okay, I'm down with whatever you want to do, coz I Love you." Tye said to her.

"I believe you now." Lucinda said with a glimpse of a smile on her face and they gave each other a kiss and make up hug in the car.

"I gotta go." Lucinda said to him

"I know, but before you go I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"My family and Jason's family are all going away for Christmas to some getaway cabins this year and I was wondering if you'd like to come with us."

"For how long?"

"For four days."

"I'll work hard in trying to convince mama, and I'd love to come with y'all."

"Cool, I'll update you on the dates, alright."

"Alright, see ya."

"Can I have a little more sugar?" Tye leaned over for a kiss and Lucinda gave him a sweet smooch before she left the car and went back inside her house feeling blissful while Tye watched her and then drove back home.

When he got home he found Brianna and in Paige's bedroom reading some scriptures from the bible and told them the good news about making up with Lucinda and about the invitation he made to her to spend Christmas with them.

Both Brianna and Paige were delighted with the news, and then Paige suddenly remembered about her sister-in-law birthday and convinced both Brianna and Tye to go with her over to the South Side of Chicago to pay a visit to their dad's sister, Aunt Gail and their four cousins, Romell who was twenty one, and was the only boy their aunt and uncle had, then there was Alisha and Kalisha who were identical twins and were both eighteen and then Shantel who was sixteen and sweet.

Alisha and Kalisha never liked Chloe since the first day they met, so whenever Brianna went over for a visit, it had to be without Chloe. Paige and Gail got on like a house on fire and whenever they'd meet they would have a great time and talk about everything and whenever Tye wasn't hanging out with Jason, before he got back with Lucinda, he would hand out with his boy cousin Romell.

Romell always took Tye to the best places in South Side and he had met Jason and Chloe once too, he sort of liked Jason but mostly had the hots for Chloe. Romell was a good person, who smoked too much weed sometimes, but he was an intelligent person who was studying electric engineering in the State University of Chicago.

Christopher Collins was Aunt Gail's husband and he was a soldier in the US military army, he was a streaked man who always kept his kids in line, especially his girls. The Johnson's arrived at the Collins and they were welcomed by Gail.

Paige had asked Tye stop at a florist along the way so they could some flowers for Aunt Gail on their way to South Side, when they arrived at the house, everyone came out to greet them at the door and they spent the rest of day catching up with family.

Jason arrived home and went straight to his bedroom's closet and put the money away on the first shelve where he kept most of his daily routine essential things, like his watches, his wallet, his perfumes, colognes and caps.

He rolled up all the money he was saved for the ring and wrapped it with an elastic band and then hide it behind one of his perfume bottles before he left his bedroom and went to check on how his dad was doing with the packing.

Mike's had arranged with one of his other friend, Bob, to come over and pick him up in a taxi so they both could go to the airport and meet up with the other two gentleman, Fred and Charlie, that were joining them to for the wedding in Las Vegas.

"Hey, you home." Chloe said to Jason when she walked into Mike's bedroom dressed up in warm winter clothes, ready to head out the door.

"Hey. Where you're going?" Jason asked her.

"I'm going out with Candy from the salon, to do some Christmas shopping." Chloe said chewing some gum.

"I thought you were going to do that with Brianna?" Jason said slightly confused.

"I'm going out to try and get a gift for Bri and then I'll going to go shopping with Brianna later on during the course of next week." Chloe cleared things out for Jason.

"Oh I see, well, have fun then." Jason said to her.

"Thanks, oh and I've put back the earphones I borrowed from you the other day in your bedroom, Ty got me new ones last night. Have a save trip daddy and call us when you get there, okay." Chloe said and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek.

"Be safe while I'm away, okay." Mike said to her.

"I'm always safe." Chloe assured him, "As for you Jason, I'll see ya later, alligator." Chloe said winking at him.

"Bye." Jason said, "So, you all set to go?" Jason said to his dad once Chloe had left.

"I've got everything with me."

"This friend of yours that's getting married for the third time, what's wrong with him?"

"He just can't seem to want to settle down with one woman."

"Speaking about woman, have you got your condoms packed yet? Coz it's Las Vegas you going to."

"That sounds like something I would say to you."

"I guess the tables have just shifted a little tonight. Try and have some fun with the ladies while you out there, coz let's face it dad, it's been quite a long time since you've hit it, right?" Jason said to his father.

"No it hasn't." Mike said taking Jason by surprise.

"Oh, so you're seeing someone?"

"Maybe, we just started, getting to know each other" Mike zipped his bag.

"Wow dad, that's really nice to hear, where did you guys meet?"

"We met at Fred's engagement party back in October, we've been calling and seeing each other ever since and, she's going to be at the wedding."

"Well, that should provide you with a chance to make further moves on her."

"Yeah it will" Mike eyes smiled as he packed his toiletries bag.

"She's already got you smiling just by you thinking about her, that's a good sign." Jason felt happy for his dad.

"I guess so." Mike agreed with a timid smile.

"I'm a little hungry so I'm going to go out and grab myself something to eat quickly, if I'm not back in time to say goodbye then, I hope you have a really good time." Jason said giving his dad a warm hug.

"Thanks, son." Mike said.

"Bye dad."

"Bye."

Jason left the apartment in Mike's car and went to get himself a meal at Burger King, while Mike finished up on his one week packing, a week in which he planned on spending some money he had left over at some Las Vegas casinos.

While he packed the last items in his toiletries bag, he realized that his bottle of cologne had finished and then he remembered that Jason always kept two bottles of cologne in his closet.

Mike didn't think he's have the time to shop for a cologne in Vegas so he decided to go and have a look at Jason's closet to see if he could take one of Jason's colognes with him and then replace it, when he got back, since he had once done it once and Jason didn't mind.

Mike went up to Jason's bedroom and opened the closet, when he saw the cologne he was looking for he took it in his hand and caught sight of the cash money that Jason had left behind.

Mike took the roll of money and held in his hand for a moment but then put in back.

' _I can't do this'_ he said to himself, but moments later he took the money again and counted it, ' _in Vegas anything can happen, $2600, I can have more chances at playing at one of the porker table or somethings and. I can't!'_ he stared at the money and put it back.

Walking out of the bedroom with the cologne, he put the bottle in the toiletries bag, zipped it up and he placed it in the travel suitcase and then zipped it up with the rest of his clothing.

He moved the bag to the entrance hall and waited patiently for his friend's call while his mind was still stuck, thinking about the money he saw in Jason's room.

His cellphone rang a few minutes later and his friend told him that he was waiting for him downstairs in the taxi. Mike opened the door to leave the apartment but, before he could take the first step out the door, he looked back at Jason's bedroom door and began to think again about the advantages he could have with that sum of money in his hand.

Having more cash with him meant that he had better chances at winning something. Mike took a deep breath in, walked back into Jason's bedroom, opened the closet and took the money with him, believing in himself that he would be replace back that money. He put the money in his wallet, grabbed his belonging and left the apartment and headed to Las Vegas.

 **Chapter Thirteen**

Brianna called Jason up once she was at home with Paige and Tye right after they had returned from the Collins and Jason left Burger King and went straight to her house to see her.

Once he'd finished eating and chatting to Bowie, who he'd met up with at Burger King, having something to eat with his family. Jason got to Brianna's house at around 4pm and stayed there till Chloe called him up at around 7pm and told him to come home because she was feeling lonely all by herself at the apartment.

Jason said his goodbyes and left after dinner and when he got to the apartment Chloe pulled him into her bedroom and showed him what she had bought for Brianna and also showed him some other goodies that she had bought for herself during the Christmas sales.

After a while Jason felt tired and went straight to bed when he found a way to escape her through the saving grace phone call from Tyrel.

Sunday morning came and Brianna, Paige and Tye all decided to get up and go to church, Tye had only decided to go to church, just so he could see Lucinda that morning and catch up with how she was feeling that day, due to her father was still around and him not being able to spend alone time with her as much as he wanted.

Jason woke up on the right side of bed and was feeling ecstatic; ' _Today is thee day',_ he said to himself, ' _the day I take a step closer to making Brianna my fiancé.',_ he continued while making his bed.

Once his bed was done, he went on to take a shower and brushed his teeth, then he went and had some cereal in the kitchen with a towel still wrapped around his waist, after he was done having breakfast he went back to his bedroom and took some underwear and socks from his chest of drawers and put them on.

Then he walked to his closet dancing to a song in his head and took out a pair of jeans from the bottom shelve and he put them on, then he moved his eyes to the top shelve to get some cologne and paused, when he noticed that one of his colognes had gone missing, as well as the rolled up money he was saving.

Jason panicked and pulled all the items from the top shelves out, but didn't find the money; he pulled out everything else from the rest of his closet shelves and still could not see any sign of his money.

"Chloe! Chloe!" Jason shook his sister to wake up.

"What's wrong?" Chloe said trying to open her eyes.

"When you got home yesterday, was the door locked?" Jason asked her nervously.

"Yes it was, why?" Chloe asked him yawning.

"Are you sure?" Jason asked her again, and then she noticed an exasperated tone in his voice.

"Jason the door was locked! Can you tell me what's going on?" Chloe asked concerned.

"You didn't take anything from my bedroom, right."

"No! For crying out load Jason, just say what's going on."

"I had $2600 in my bedroom closet, and now that money is gone. It's fuckin' gone." Jason said running his hands through his damp long and thick brown hair.

"I didn't even I know you had that kind of money lying around this apartment." Chloe told him.

"If you had no clue about it then it could only mean..." Jason stopped to think for a second "...of course, my cologne's missing too, FUCK!" Jason said taking a sit on Chloe's bed, once he put the missing pieces of a puzzle together.

"You think it was, dad?" Chloe asked softly.

"Who else could it be Chloe?" Jason said with a despondent look on his face and sighed, "I don't know why I left him here alone knowing that I had that money lying around my closet, shit!"

"Were you saving that money for something important Jason?"

"I went out yesterday to find a ring for Brianna, I found it and I needed to go today to make the full payment so they could make the changes on the ring that I picked out for her." Jason told Chloe.

"You went out to get Brianna an engagement ring?"

"Yeah." Jason said feeling low, "I planned on engaging her on Christmas Eve." he said and Chloe began to tear up.

"Let me call dad and talk to him." Chloe said getting out of the bed and reaching for her cellphone.

"I've already tried calling him and it's been going straight to voice mail."

"Oh Jason. I'm so sorry for being emotionally selfish right now, but I'm really sad that dad has done this to you." Chloe said trying to keep her tears back.

"You're not being selfish, come here." Jason got up and gave her a hug.

"How come you didn't tell me about your plans to engage Bri?" Chloe said sniffing.

"I wanted to keep it a secret from everyone, including you." Jason said to her.

"Do you need me to help you with some cash?"

"No, maybe this whole thing has happened for a reason."

"No, don't say that, dad's just got in the way and fucked up everything. We'll have to deal him when he gets back, maybe he'll think twice and bring back you're money."

"Even if he does Chloe, by then it will be too late, because the payment deadline for the ring I wanted to give to Bri was today. I saved up just enough, but I guess I just have to wait till after Christmas." Jason said to her.

"I wish I could something." Chloe consoled her brother.

"There is something you can do for me."

"What is it?"

"Don't mention anything about what happened here to Bri, okay." Jason asked kindly.

"I won't. You know I hate spoiling surprises." Chloe gave him a sweet smile and them Jason went back to his bedroom to clean up the mess he made.

Mike arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday night and didn't bother switching on his phone because he knew not to, after what he had done, he knew that by the time he'd arrive there, Jason would have found out that his money was missing and he would have tried to call him and make him feel worse than what he was already feeling, crooked.

Mike met up with the rest of his friends and they all had a wonderful time spending money, going to strip clubs where he watched his friend, Fred get a lap dance from one of the young and sexy exotic dancers, then they went to a bar and had a couple of shots and only went back to their rooms at the early hours of the morning where they had two hours of sleep and had to get up and get dressed to get to the ceremony on time, where the wedding was being held which went off without a glitch.

Kathy, the women that Mike had been seeing was there supporting her friend and she looked amazing with her hair in an up do, wearing a beige off the shoulder knee length sheath floral print dress with nude strap high heels.

Kathy was in her early 40's and had brunette hair and brown eyes, she looked good for her age, had never been married or had children and worked as a qualified nurse in the maternity ward at Chicago's Mercy Hospital and Medical center.

After the small wedding reception was down, Mike took the rest of day out to relax and spend some quality time with Kathy, before she left for Chicago the next day, and after Kathy left the very next day, Mike went back to the hotel room and counted the total amount of cash he had at hand for gambling.

In total he counted $3500, which $2600 belonged to Jason and the other $800 come from him after he used up $600 and spoiled Kathy with a fancy dinner and a bought her a golden bracelet.

He went through to Caesar's Palace casino and bought chips worth $800 and then he found the first blackjack table and placed a few bets, each at $20. And just after two hours of play and forty bets later, he lost every penny. Mike left the casino disappointed and went back to his hotel for the night.

Thursday 9th December 2010, Mike woke up, had breakfast at a nearby café and took a taxi back to Caesar's Palace casino to try another round of Blackjack, he bought chips with all of Jason's money and went back to the same table to play, he placed twenty bets at $50 each and began to lose again.

After the 21st bet his luck began to change and he won the next set of 40 bets at $50, he continued to play and win more bets throughout the day, until he felt that he had used up all luck and walked away with a total of $16 000.

Mike was walking towards the pay point, when one of his chips fell on the floor, when he stopped to picked it up, he caught a glimpse of a roulette table and his mind began to tick back into his addictive gambling paths.

He stood looking at the roulette table in front of him and kept stared at a young male, who looked like he was loaded with money, and kept winning each turn, which in return made him go there and try his luck too. He first stood around and checked the amount of money that was being placed on the table and became interested at the amount.

The young blonde arrogant male was with two gorgeous women beside him, rubbing his ego as he kept placing bets, to try and show off wealth. Mike joined in and began to place his bets, the start was bit rough when he lost a total of $6000 straight up, but the two continued playing and the young male's ego began to grow even bigger when he kept on wining, and soon the two ladies began to sensually teased him and kept asking him to end the game once and for all.

Mike's worst losing fears came true when he saw the young male began to pack his winning away so he could cash it in.

"Are you done for the night young man, I've still got $10000 to go" Mike intimidated the young man.

"You want me to take that from you too?" the young male with a Texan accent, and became cocky with Mike.

"If you think you can?" Mike responded and convinced the young man to continue.

"Alright old man, I'm going to go all in and you'll have to do the same coz I've got to end this game, don't want to keep these ladies waiting on me the whole night." the young male challenged him.

"Alright, then may the best man win." Mike accepted the challenge.

The young blonde male placed his entire winnings on to number black 15 and Mike put his remaining winnings amount on red 21, because 21 reminded him of Jason's age and hoped it would bring him luck.

The wheel was span and the dealer announced for final bets, the young male changed his mind at the last minute and moved his earnings to all to Black while Mike kept his, on, red 21. Once the final bets were in, the wheel began to slow down, it was as if time slowed down completely when Mike anxiously looked at the direction in which the ball was moving.

The ball moved and bounced around the spinning wheel a couple of time and then stopped exactly at, red 21. Mike stilled for a moment and then celebrated while the young blonde male looked at him strangely.

"It's not a lot of money you know!" The young blonde male said to him, then shook his head and left accompanied by the two young females.

"Congratulations sir, here are your winnings." the dealer said to him.

Mike now hand a total of $30 000 and he still thought he could do better, so he went up to a couple of more tables that showed great potential and placed bets throughout the night.

 _...Back in Chicago..._

Jason knocked off from work at 4:30pm on Tuesday, since he was still driving his dad's car and didn't have to wait for Tye. Jason went past Chloe's salon to pick her up because he didn't feel like going home by himself to face Mike.

He sent a text earlier letting them know that he was coming home, three days late. Jason called Brianna earlier on and excused himself for not coming over to see her, because he said that he and Chloe had plans set for dinner with their dad and Brianna didn't mind at all.

Both siblings arrived at home at around 5:20pm and when Mike heard them come in he got up from his sit and feeling really happy to see them and went straight to them by the entrance area to try and tell them the all about the wonderful days he'd spent in Las Vegas.

Chloe was first through the door and when she caught the sight of him, she gave him a repulsed stare and waited for Jason to come inside, once inside Chloe ignored Mike and walked straight past him and headed straight into her bedroom.

Jason shut the door and said nothing to his dad, but gave him a disheartened look before he too walked straight past him and made his way towards his bedroom.

"Jason, wait. Please." Mike asked him while he was walking away. Jason composed himself and turned to face his dad.

"Did you spend all of it?" Jason asked him.

"No. I've put every penny back, and I won a whole lot more." Mike tried to make the situation less hurtful.

"Well good for you dad." Jason said uncaringly.

"Jason, I've put the money back."

"The money you stole from me!" Jason burst out and held back his anger by hardening of his jaw.

"I didn't steal it, I just borrowed it!"

"If you didn't steal it, then why did you have your phone off the whole time!"

"Jason, I."

"Do you even know what that money was for? I was saving it to get a ring for Brianna, I was saving it to get a ring for the only person who I plan on spending the rest of my life with, and the only person who makes me, very happy, even when I have to deal with your fucking gambling issues!"

"I'm sorry. I can make it up to you, I can help you get the ring you want. I can pay for it."

"Keep your money dad, I don't need it, because getting the ring or not getting the ring doesn't matter to me anymore, I can always get it some other time..." Jason's eyes began to fill up with tears of sadness as he pressed his lips together and gave his dad a heart aching look "...you know what the hardest thing is to swallow at this point, it's the fact that you didn't even think twice before you took that money from me, from your own son. Now I understand why mom left, it's not the money that hurts, it's the chance of hope that's been taken." Jason said then walked to his bedroom and shut the door behind him, leaving Mike in the passage feeling gloomy.

"It sucks doesn't it." Chloe opened her door just after she heard their conversation end.

"Chloe please, I feel bad enough."

"And so you should, dad!, you've gone way too far this time, I guess I better start keeping my money away from here too you know, just in case you decide to borrow it!" Chloe said and then closed her bedroom door in Mike's face.

Jason sat in his room and didn't even feel like counting the money that his dad had returned back to him. He left the cash on the side pedestal next to his bed and laid on his back on the bed stirring at the ceiling, then felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket and took it out. It was a text from Brianna that brought a smile to his face.

Hi, hope the dinner's going well, missing you.

▷ Dinner's been cancelled, dad's not feeling too well. Can I come and see you?

Is he okay? Sure, you can come around, I'm at home with my mom.

▷His picked up a bug, I'll be there in 10min

Ok

Jason got up from his bed and knocked on Chloe's door.

"Come in." she said.

"Hey, I'm going over to see Bri, do you wanna come?"

"Dad's gone out, how you getting there?" Chloe informed him.

"Shit, did he?"

"Yep."

"I guess I'm going to have to walk there then." Jason said.

"Are you crazy, it's dark and cold out there?"

"Then, I'll call Tye and ask him, where he is."

"Do that first." Chloe suggested to him.

Jason left her bedroom and called Tye.

Tye informed him that he was on his way to see Lucinda for a few minutes and was just about passing the apartment when he picked up his call, then Jason asked him to delay his trip to Lucinda just by a few minutes just so he could drop him off to see Brianna at the house and Tye agreed, since he had to give Jason the car back anyway for the next work day.

"Chloe, Tye will be here in the next 5 minutes if you want to come with me" Jason informed Chloe after he got off the phone.

"It's okay, I'll stay, I've got a few things to do, go on and spend some alone time with Bri, you need it."

"Okay. I'll see you later." Jason said at the door.

"Goodnight." Chloe said to him and he left.

Tye was outside in exactly 5 minutes and Jason appeared seconds later and got into the car.

"Where's Chloe?" Tye asked him once he was inside the car.

"She's not coming."

"She okay?"

"Yeah, she's got somethings to do."

"Alright let's go then coz I don't want to keep Lucinda waiting." Tye said.

Jason was dropped off at Brianna's house around 7pm after, knocked on the front door and Brianna got up to let him in.

She greeted with a short smooch then offered to take his jacket and winter hat off.

"You hungry?" She asked him.

"A little." he said.

"Good, coz I've made some food tonight, come with me, I'll dish up some food for you." She said taking his hand and leading him to into the kitchen where she served him some warm homemade winter beef pasta mixed with vegetables and served it with a beer.

Brianna set the warm plate of food for Jason on the dining table and watched him eat.

"This is so tasty." Jason said to her while he took a few bites out of the food.

"I'm glad you like it" Brianna smiled.

"I could sure get used to this."

"What, me feeding you?"

"Yes, on a daily basis." Jason glanced up at her and she responded with a flirty smile.

"Where you okay getting here tonight?"

"Yeah, I had to call Tye to drop me off here coz my dad went out with the car to get something for himself at the drugs store."

"I hope he feels better soon."

"Yeah, me too" Jason ate some more, "I thought you said you were at home with your mom?"

"She upstairs in her bedroom reading a book and having some tea, I told her you'd be here."

"She's taking it easy tonight."

"I asked her to, she's been going through stuff in her bedroom trying to sort and put a few things away before the big move to Tye's room."

"Wow, I can see your mom's going to be all hands on with the whole Tye and Lucinda moving in situation."

"Mama just likes to get things done and get things out the way, the quicker everyone settles in, the better."

"I guess it makes, getting used to a new routine much quicker too, especially when you going to be living with some you've never lived with before."

"You can say that again. Can I take that?" Brianna said once she saw that Jason had finished his meal.

"Thank you, that's just what I needed." Jason said and followed Brianna to the kitchen with his bottle of beer.

When they got to the kitchen, Brianna quickly washed and rinsed out the dishes, while Jason finished off his beer and threw away the bottle in the rubbish bin then put a mint sweet in his mouth.

"So what do you feel like doing now?" Brianna asked Jason while she wiped off her wet had with a dish cloth.

"I don't know" Jason said playfully thinking while he gently pulled Brianna closer to him by her waist and then tucked her loose curls behind her ears, while she stared straight at his eyes, "How about we cuddle up in the couch and watch a bit of TV?" Jason gave her a smooch to her lips.

"I've got a better idea." Brianna thought of something else.

"What is it?" Jason asked interestedly.

"Why don't we go upstairs to my bedroom and cuddle up there instead?" Brianna suggested.

"Your mom's upstairs and Tye can come home at any minute."

"We just gonna cuddle Jason, plus you'll get to see the inside of my bedroom, for once." Brianna tried to persuade him. "Come on" she took him by the hand and he followed her upstairs to her bedroom.

Once they were both inside, she shut the door behind her and took a small step to stand beside Jason.

"So what do think?" She asked him.

"I'm going to have confess and say that I'm quite familiar with your bedroom, I've peeked inside here a couple of times when the door was slightly open , when you weren't at home, but being fully inside it right now, feels like I'm fully in Brianna's space." Jason said turned and looked at her "And I love it."

"That's nice, let's get to the bed part then, and cuddle." Brianna said showing him to her bed and making him sit down before she turned on some R&B music and then sat on the bed, watching Jason as he took off his shoes and socks and adjusted himself on top of her bed.

Once Brianna saw that he was lying comfortably, she took the faux fur blanket that she kept at the foot of her bed and covered both of them with it. The two laid in bed hugging each other under the blanket quietly for a while, listening and taking in some of the loving vibes that came from the R&B music that played in the background.

Brianna had her head resting on Jason's chest and Jason had his arms around her and let both had their legs intertwined under the blankets. Brianna was in her blue snowflake printed long sleeve cotton pyjamas, which she had put on after having a shower when she got home after work and Jason was wearing a black casual tracksuit pants with a two toned black and white long sleeve T-shirt.

"Umh, this is much better than cuddling up in front of the TV, don't you think?" Brianna said looking up at Jason.

"It is" he replied looking back at her and then kissed her on her forehead.

"What is it?" Jason asked when he noticed that Brianna was still looking at up at him, like she had something in mind to say to him.

"Nothing, I just." she said staring into his eyes, and then began to shift her body over to his side of the bed, to sit on top facing him, Jason mentioned eye contact with her and welcomed her lips when she bent over and began to slowly kiss him.

He adjusted himself into a sitting up position and ran his hands down her back and outer thighs while Brianna continued to kiss and tease him with, rhythmic and seductive hip motion, gently pulling and tugging his hair both her hands.

Brianna soon moved her hands down and tagged at his T-shirt and took it off, without any hesitation from Jason.

She then kissed his mouth once and introducing her tongue to him and soon, she began to feel the hardness of Jason's sexual excitement beneath her as she continued with her provocative advances.

Jason took her by surprise when he took charge and switched their positions around, when he placed himself on top of her, between her legs and gently moved both her hands above her head.

"I want this off." Jason gazed at Brianna referring and tugging at her top.

"Take it off." She gave him permission.

He reached for her top and slowly removed it, revealing a her black hanky panky bra, she wore underneath, he then moved her back down on the bed and kissed her mouth and began to trail light kisses down her neck and on top of her breasts, then moved back to her mouth and gave his tongue to her as he rubbed his erection up and down her groan area multiple times.

Brianna's hands travelled all over Jason's body while they kissed deeply and moved together in the same avid motion and as her hands continued to travel, she felt bold and moved one down to reach Jason's erection, but moved it away swiftly just after she felt the slightest hardness of him, which caused Jason to pause and look at the sudden startled look on her face.

"Do you wanna stop?" Jason asked her feeling apprehensive.

"No, it just. It's my first time touching you there, you know." Brianna moved timidly beneath him.

"Do you like the feel of it?" Jason took her hand and placed it back on his erection.

"It feels hard." Brianna said softly looking up at him while she gently stroked and studied his stimulated sex as Jason's sexual gaze intensified over her and became a darker when she continued with her gently strokes on him.

Jason closed his eyes and kissed Brianna when the sexual tension became too much to bare , when Brianna slowly moved her hand into his pants and wanting to feel his bare aroused, warm flesh.

"Hello, I'm home!" Tye announced his entrance into the house and Brianna and Jason stilled. "Mama, Bri, Jason!" Tye called out to them.

"Shit!" Jason whispered over Brianna, before he got up from the bed and looked around for his T-Shirt while she quickly found her top and put it back on. When Tye saw that no one was downstairs he made his way upstairs to see what was going on, when he reached upstairs, Brianna had the door to her bedroom open.

Tye knocked once and walked in and found Brianna and Jason asleep in each other's arms under the faux fur blanket.

"Yo, Jason." Tye whispered to him, "Jason." He tried waking him up.

"What's up man." Jason pretended to be woken up.

"You're sleeping here tonight?" Tye whispered to him.

"No, I guess I just fell asleep." Jason whispered back.

"I'll meet you downstairs alright, you can take the car and go." Tye said to him.

"I'll be down now." Jason informed him and Tye left the bedroom and went back downstairs.

Brianna opened her eyes and looked at Jason and the two giggled silently at each other once the coast was clear.

"That was close." Jason said to her afterwards.

"But you did a great job pretending to be asleep." Brianna said to him.

"I had to cool myself down, after what we did."

"I enjoyed our short lived foreplay session."

"Did you?"

"Yeah, I want to keep doing it again and again, until we can go all the way." Brianna said looking at him affectionately.

"I'm always up for whatever you want." Jason said placing a tender kiss on her lips, "I need to go before Tye comes back in here."

"Okay."

Jason got off the bed to put on his socks and casual sneakers.

"You're hair looks like a mess." Brianna said smiling at him.

"You should see yours." he said to her, then ran his hands through his hair and then leaned over and kissed her goodnight.

"See ya." He said with a smile on his face as he was leaving Brianna's bedroom.

"Goodnight." Brianna smiled back at him while sitting on the bed before he disappeared and shut the door behind him.

Once Jason was gone Brianna, got up and switched off the radio and the threw herself back on the bed and hugging the pillow that Jason had been lying on, she inhaled his scent, pretended the pillow was him and hugged it to sleep under the covers.

For the next week Mike was given silent treatment from both Chloe and Jason, whenever he'd come home after work, his children were never there, so Mike decided to spend most of his time with Kathy.

When the weekend came Jason, Tye, Chloe, Brianna and Paige all got together and made plans to go out and do some Christmas shopping at the mall in preparation for Christmas, when they got to the mall they all split and went on to do their own shopping, and during the course of the day they would sometimes bump into each other when looking for the perfect gift and once the shopping was done they all gathered at a restaurant nearby, which was chosen by Chloe, and had something to eat before returning back home to wrap some of the staff they got for each other.

Chloe was at home going through closet in search of her female Santa Clause outfit to pack for the trip, since she always made it a tradition to get dressed up as Santa's help, to hand out presents to everyone. As she searched for the outfit she came across her pink memory box decorated in butterflies, which was given to her for Christmas a couple of years ago by Mike to keep all the memories of her and her mom locked away safely inside.

Chloe hadn't looked into the box for years and decided to take it out and have a look, she brought the box to her bed and opened it and began to go through all the pictures of her and her mother, then she read some of letters she used to write to her and felt a bit emotional at thinking about her again.

When she took out the last letters from the box, a ring fell out on the bed and she remembered that it was the ring that Jason had given her when she was only 9.

She took the ring in her hand, smiled and stared at it for a while.

As she continued to stare at the ring, the feelings that once presented themselves towards it, had gone, she tried it on her ring finger and thought it looked nice, but it then felt like the ring would probably look better on someone's else hand, suddenly she remembered something and got of her bed feeling excited and headed straight to into Jason's bedroom without knocking.

"Jason!" Chloe called to him.

"Chloe, don't you know how to knock!" Jason said covering up the gifts he bought with his pillows, just in time.

"Sorry, but I came here to show you something." Chloe said unable to hide her excitement as she kept the ring closed in her hand, out of Jason's site.

"What is it?" Jason asked her curiously, as Chloe stepped closer to him and took a sit at the end of his to face him.

"Look what I have in my hand." Chloe said opening her hands slowly and revealing the ring to Jason.

"It's mom's ring." Jason said to her.

"Yes, the one you gave me when we were little just after she died. I thought I'd lost it but it was in my memory box all the time."

"It's good you found it." Jason said to her.

"Jason, you know what this means, right?" Chloe asked him.

"You found the ring?" Jason said befuddled.

"No silly!" Chloe sighed and then said, "This mean that you can still get to propose to Brianna in time for Christmas."

"Chloe, that's mom's ring. I gave it to you so you could keep it in memory of her." Jason turned down her idea.

"Jason, you gave me this ring for safe keeping, plus I'm sure if mom were here she'd give you a ring someday to give it to the woman you'd want to get married to, anyway."

"But it wouldn't be that ring." Jason said.

"I want you to take it anyway." Chloe insisted.

"No Chloe, I'm not taking that ring." Jason refused.

"Jason, look at it. It's got Brianna's name written all over it, plus I've already checked it out and it's not something I'd wear because purple isn't really my colour." Chloe continued to persuade him.

"Chloe." Jason looked undecided.

"If you don't it, I'm going to pawn it." Chloe alerted him.

"I'll buy it from you." Jason said.

"Here." Chloe shook her head and reached for his hand, placing the ring on his hand and then closed it, "It's yours, and it's always been yours. Keep the money and save it towards the wedding or something. I've come to terms with mom's death a long time ago" she assured Jason, "Just promise me that you'll make this the best Christmas Brianna will ever?"

"I'll try." Jason said and Chloe smiled and then gave him a side hug.

"Have you thought of how you going to pop the question yet?" Chloe asked him after moving back.

"I think it will be nice if I do it over Christmas dinner, once we all done eating."

"That's so boring!" Chloe said to him.

"When do you suggest I do it?"

"Let's think hard." Chloe said and then she and Jason started sharing ideas on how to surprise Brianna the most.

Mike came home a few moments later and heard Jason and Chloe in the room talking, he walked into Jason's bedroom to see what the two were doing, and as soon as they noticed him, they both stilled and stopped talking to each other.

"I heard you from the door and decided to come in and say hi." Mike greeted and Jason and Chloe who looked at him without saying word. "Can we talk?" Mike asked stepping further into the bedroom.

"We don't have anything to talk to you!" Chloe burst out to him.

"Chloe, let's hear what his got to say." Jason decided to give Mike a chance to speak.

"Thanks Jason. I've been trying to get the two you together to try and solve things out between us before we got to go on holiday. I want us to clear the air that's standing between us..." Mike paused, "...and I want both you to know that, I love you both very much and I'm very sorry for doing what I did. I didn't mean to hurt to you Jason, I swear I didn't mean to." Mike said feeling weepy. "Please tell me what I need to do in order to get things back to the way they were and if it helps, I just wanted you both to know that I've put myself through a gambling addiction program, and this time I promise that, I will go till the end, because I've realised I've got too far."

"That's what you said the last time dad!" Chloe sounded slightly irate.

"This time is different; I'm doing it for me, Chloe. I need to change, because I can't afford to lose the both of you to this habit of mine. I've promised myself I'd stop and I will, but I need you both to support me." Mike said sincerely to them and still received silent stares.

"We'll support you dad." Jason said finally, "But this will be the last time, because if you fall back on your word and fail. Then you'll be left alone to fend for yourself while Chloe and I find our own space to live."

"I understand." Mike said.

"Let's just hug this out and start over, and let Christmas be a new start." Jason said, breaking away the bad vibes between, then he got up from him bed and reached for his sisters hand so they could all hug each other for a while.

Mike soon began to fell the love and support from his children and kissed each of on their foreheads, and everything was forgotten.

Morning of the 22nd of December 2010, was the day everyone got together and packed the cars and a small hired luggage trailer to hit the road for their cabin Christmas holiday.

Mike drove with Paige and Chloe in his car while Jason, Brianna, Tye and Lucinda all went in another car behind them.

Tye seat in the front while Jason drove and Brianna seat at the back with Lucinda, for the first part of the trip and then they switched over, when Tye decided to go and sit at the back with Lucinda when he noticed that Brianna and her didn't have much to talk about.

Chloe didn't feel like sharing her space with all the love duos, that's why she decided to go in Mike's car instead, that way she could stretch herself in the back seat and enjoy going through some of her fashion and hair magazines.

The drive to the cabins took exactly four hours and thirty minutes, due to a pit stop for some gas and breakfast and when everyone arrived at the cabins, they all looked forward to having a look around after Chloe and Mike went over to the reception to collect the keys to the cabin while everyone else waited outside the cars.

Chloe returned moments later and opened the door to the cabin so everyone could go in and finally have a look at the place. To everyone the cabin was surprisingly charming. It stood on its own stand and had an open plan kitchen, with a dining area and a connecting lounge which had a fireplace and at the corner wall of the lounge there was a Christmas tree already put up for them.

There were three bedrooms were upstairs and one of them was an on-suite, the Jacuzzi was outside on the deck overlooking a bon fire area and a small woods, the place was perfect and the local shops weren't too far away.

"So, do we like the place or what?" Chloe asked enthusiastically once everyone gathered back around in the lounge.

"I like it." Brianna said first.

"It's really nice." Jason seconded her.

"Looks comfy to me." Lucinda added.

"I love the fireplace." Paige commented.

"Where's the TV?" Tye asked looking around.

"There's not TV's here Tye, people come here to enjoy each other's companies." Chloe said to him.

"What are we going to do about the sleeping arrangements, because I see that there's an on suite with a queen size bed, then there's 4 single beds, two in each of the two remaining bedroom." Mike said wanting to know.

"Yeah, so I was thinking that Brianna and I can share a room while Paige can take the on suite, then Dad you can share a room with Jason while Lucinda and Tye can cuddle up down here on the sleeper couch." Chloe put out her sleeping arrangements.

"I think that's a good idea." Tye agreed with Chloe.

"It must be Christmas, because that's the first time Tye has actually agreed with Chloe from the word go." Paige said and everyone laughed at her comment.

Later on, the man went out and brought in all the bags while the woman had a look around the kitchen and made up a shopping list to get some food supplies and stock up for the time that they'd all be there as well as for Christmas, once the list was done Paige, Brianna and Chloe went out with Jason to the local grocery store.

"So Jason, is the proposal still going to happen?" Paige asked him while they both walked down the local market aisle when Chloe and Brianna were out of sight.

 _...Just so you know..._

Jason had, had a talked to Paige and Tye, a week before, about his plans in getting engaged to Brianna over Christmas.

Tye was initially, was not in favour of Jason and Brianna getting engaged for quickly, since they'd only been together just over five months and felt that Jason was moving too fast. Paige stepped in for both Jason and Brianna, reminding Tye once again about where his focus needed to be, since he had a child on the way and had to learn to let his sister grow up and make her own decisions in life.

When Tye reflected back on his life, he realized that what Jason was doing was respectful, he knew that is took a lot of courage for him to go over to his house and ask his sister's hand in marriage.

Tye soon felt obliged towards him and gave him permission to follow through with his plan with the exception that they'd at least wait a while before they got married. Mike too was informed about what would happen, when Jason told him just after he had received the approval from Paige and Tye and Mike was delighted with the news too, although he thought that the two were still quite young to get so committed to each other, but he made sure that Jason would get his full support.

Mike kept the good news rolling, when he shared the news with his children that he managed to win a total of $120 000 from his trip to Las Vegas.

Jason and Chloe didn't believe him at first until he showed them the balance in his account balance and said that he wasn't going to touch the money until he knew what he was going to do with it, after he was done with the gambling addiction program he was in, and his children supported him in his decision.

 _...Back at the grocery store..._

"It will, but I've grown a little nervous over the past few days." Jason said to Paige.

"Why?" Paige asked picking out some canned tomato.

"I've been thinking that there might just be a chance that she'll feel pressured, and say no."

"Why would you thinking that?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just feeling too sure about the whole thing."

"Sometimes it's good to feel and do things when you feeling too sure about it, because that's when it's meant to happen." Paige said smiling at him.

"What's going on here you two?" Brianna came up from behind.

"I was just telling Jason that I'm happy that we all here on holiday for a change." Paige said covering up.

"Yeah, that's what we were talking about." Jason said backing Paige words.

"Okay." Brianna didn't seem convinced on what they were telling her but then she let it sail.

"Hey y'all, I've just got the best piece of meat, ever." Chloe said walking towards them with a big smile on her face while carrying some wrapped beef tenderloin in her hands that she got from the butchery section at the local grocery store.

"I think we have everything now, let's go and pay." Paige said once all the items on the list were stretched out and were placed on the shopping trolley.

Once everyone was back at the cabin, Paige took over the kitchen and began to prepared dinner whilst everyone else went to their rooms to unpack and retrieve all the wrapped presents to put them under the Christmas tree. Lucinda had to share the same bedroom with Brianna and Chloe when it came down to unpacking and getting dress or undress during the day, which they didn't mind at all.

"So how does it feel, being pregnant and all?" Chloe asked Lucinda trying to make some sort of conversation while they all unpacked their bags.

"I feel still like myself, the doctors told me that I'm still in the first trimester." Lucinda said.

"Don't you like, have morning sickness and stuff yet?" Chloe asked again.

"Nah, I feel fine, I guess I'm lucky I don't have that."

"Do you know if it a boy or girl you having?" Brianna asked.

"It's too early to tell in the first three months, right Lucinda?" Chloe said.

"Yeah, but I'm hoping to have a girl." Lucinda said.

"That's sweet, I hope to have a niece too." Brianna said.

"Come on ladies, let's take these presents downstairs, I'm sure that tree is in need of them." Chloe suggested when they were done unpacking and then they left the bedroom with their gifts at hand.

The rest of the day flew past quite fast, after everyone enjoyed the dinner Paige had made and then went to bed a little early due to being tired over the long drive.

The next morning Brianna was the first one up and made breakfast for everyone, after breakfast, she and Jason both wore jackets, hats, cloves and some other warm clothes underneath before; heading out the door past the bon fire area and into the small woods of trees.

"So, why did you want to come out here for a walk?" Jason asked her.

"Just felt like having you all to myself for a while." Brianna said.

"You missing my touch?" Jason stopped and gently pulled her closer to him, then gave her a long kiss.

Brianna enjoyed his kiss then she moved backwards away from him, bent down, formed a snowball and threw it straight at Jason's chest, he took the first hit and then formed his own snowball and chased Brianna around until he caught up to her and threw his snowball which only reached her lower leg, the two continued to play in the snow until the cold became slightly unbearable and they decided to go back inside to warm themselves in front of the warm wood fireplace, with some tea for Brianna and some coffee for Jason.

Later Chloe and Lucinda took over the kitchen for the rest for the day while the rest played some Christmas bingo, after dinner the younger crowd decided to get into their swimming suits and then headed out to get in the hot Jacuzzi to hang out with some non-alcoholic drinks served in wine glasses while Paige and Mike stayed inside chatting.

"This Jacuzzi's really nice." Jason said while they were all in the Jacuzzi.

"Yeah, man." Tye agreed with him.

"Did you guys notice the bonfire area down there?" Chloe said.

"Yeah, Jason and I walked past there this morning." Brianna said.

"I think we should all go down there tomorrow night, with some blankets, some marsh mellows and sing away to some Christmas songs." Chloe shared her idea.

"It's cold out there, though." Lucinda said.

"It shouldn't be that cold tomorrow, since it's stopped snowing already, plus we should be fine with blankets on." Jason said.

"And I'm pretty sure Tye can keep you warm under the blankets, just like he has for the past two nights we've been here, right Tye." Chloe said.

"Yeah." Tye rolled his eyes at Chloe, slightly blushing.

"I Agree with Chloe, I think it will be really nice to hang around the bonfire tomorrow night." Brianna said.

"So we'll do it. I'll fill the folks in, in the morning." Chloe said.

"That Christmas tree is keeping a lot of presents, I can't wait to find out which ones are mine so I can see what's inside some of them." Tye said.

"I must confess that this year, I've probably got the worst present for everyone coz I had no idea of what any of you wanted." Lucinda said.

"A present is present, doesn't matter if it's liked or not, but, trust me when I say this because we here don't ever get each other the right stuff too, even if it's mentioned a couple of times, out loud." Chloe said.

"Are you still going on about the present I gave you last year Chloe?" Tye turned to her.

"Yeah, that set of candles!"

"They were scented candles that I thought you'd like." Tye said to her.

"Who in the hell buys candles for someone as a Christmas present?" Lucinda questioned Tye poor choose of a gift.

"Exactly!" Chloe said.

"Look, people always say that it's the thought that counts." Jason backed Tye.

"Wait a minute Jason." Brianna turned her attention to him, "Your backing Tye on the choice of candles as a present?"

"I—Chloe you've used those candles though, right?" Jason asked her.

"Yeah, because candles are meant to be used." Chloe replied.

"Okay, let me just say that this year, Chloe. You won't have to worry about getting a bad present because I got you something else, which I'm sure, you'll like." Tye said to Chloe and she gave him a playful and doubtful look.

"See, Chloe you getting something nice." Jason said.

"I'm just hoping I don't get to unwrap some candles this time around" Lucinda said and everyone looked at Tye and laughed when he shrugged his shoulder and had a sip of his drink making Lucinda raise some questions in her head about what he had put under the tree as her present.

 **Chapter Fourteen**

The morning before Christmas came and everyone took their day fairly easy then got together after lunch to play a game of picturenary where it was men verses women and the men won four times in a row, while Paige watched on and tried to help the women out but failed miserably.

After dinner while the woman were in the kitchen making some preparations for the big Christmas lunch the next day, the men went outside to set up the bonfire area, by clearing the area away from some snow, wiping down the four long and wide rustic log benches and lighting up the fire as well as stocking up on some wood.

Once they were done they went back inside and let the women know that everything was set.

Chloe and Lucinda went out to get the blankets while Brianna and Paige got some cups and filled up the two flasks with some hot chocolate and prepared the mash mellows to take outside, which Chloe and Jason went out earlier that morning to get at a gas station.

Later on everyone took their seats in front of the bon fire outside, each with their own blanket and a warm cup of hot and delicious chocolate.

Each bench could hold three adults comfortable, Tye and Lucinda seat together on one side as did Brianna and Jason on the opposite them, Chloe seat in the middle of Paige and Mike and they fourth bench was used as a table for the cups, flasks, sticks and bowl of marshmallows.

After warming up to some hot chocolate, Paige gave way for everyone to follow her when she begin to sing the Christmas coral of 'Silent Night', when the roasting of marshmallows began, and after a few songs, Paige and Mike decided to go to bed and leave the youngsters behind, they said their goodnight wishes and then told them not to forget to put the fire out before they went to bed.

"So Chloe, are we going to be seeing you in that Santa outfit of yours, this year?" Tye asked her as he rested his head on Lucinda's lap.

"You know Christmas just isn't the same without this Santa helper, hey!" Chloe said to him while she was covering herself with the blanket she had asked Mike to leave his one behind.

"Santa's helper?" Lucinda asked surprised to find out that Chloe actually had a Santa helper outfit.

"Yeah." Chloe responded stretching herself out on the bench.

"A cool one too." Brianna added while resting her head on Jason's shoulders, as he roasted a marshmallow on the fire and ate it slowly.

"So you wear the ears, the hat, all that?" Lucinda asked.

"Nah, I'm like the female chic version of Santa's helper." Chloe said looking at her.

"Really! I'd like to see that." Lucinda said sounding excited.

"Lu, I'm kind of tired right now, let's go to bed" Tye said to her.

"Now." Lucinda asked him.

"If you wanna stay out here it's alright with me." Tye said looking up at her.

"It's alright, I'll come with you." Lucinda said.

"I think I'm also going to take those cups inside and wash them, can you help Tye." Chloe asked getting up.

"Sure." Tye said and let Lucinda pack the blankets away.

"Do you want to go inside too Jason, seeing that everyone's going?" Brianna asked.

"I want to stay out here a little bit more." Jason said.

"Then I'll stay out here a little bit more with you." Brianna said to him.

"Okay, we off. Try not to stay out here out here too long, you two, and remember to put out the fire" Tye said to them.

"Goodnight." Lucinda said to them.

"See you on Christmas morning!" Chloe said animatedly and then the three left Jason and Brianna behind.

"Wow, Chloe's really looking forward to Christmas isn't she?" Jason said.

"Why, aren't you?" Brianna asked.

"I am, just a little anxious and wondering if you'll like the present I got for you."

"Is it candles?" Brianna asked looking at him.

"No!" he smiled.

"Then you shouldn't worry." she smiled back and Jason then shifted a bit on the bench, so he could face her and have a full view of her face.

"What is it Jason?" Brianna asked gently when Jason kept his eyes focused on her face, saying nothing to her.

"I need to tell you something" he said softly while bringing both her hands together, gently bringing them up to interlock with his.

"What is it?" Brianna listened attentively.

"There's a reason why I wanted to stay behind, out here tonight. That reason was just so I could kiss you before Christmas" Jason said slowly gazing at her as the bonfire kept going and she could see that he truly yearned for her, when he ran his warm thump over her bottom lip and licked his lips as he touched hers.

"Then kiss me before it gets here." Brianna whispered softly to him, suddenly feeling a little turned on by his gesture.

Jason placed both his hands on either side of her face and moved in for a kiss, which in return, she responded back by following his slow and sweet engaging kissing motion until she paused for a bit and got up.

Jason watched as she stood up, took her blanket, and then laid it on the ground closest to the bonfire, then he watched on as she began to remove some of the clothing items on her body and placed them at the end of bench he sat on.

She first removed her fleece short boots, and then she proceeded in removing her zipped up sweater top and pants until she was only left with her long sleeve thermal top and boys shorts underwear.

"Bri, you're going to get cold." Jason said gazing at her.

"Then come and warm me up." Brianna said to him, making herself comfortable on the blanket that she placed on the ground and watched, as Jason as got up from the bench and stripped down too, leaving on his thermal tank top, jockeys and socks, he then grabbed his blanket and stared at her for a while before he

then kneeled down in front of her and positioned himself slowly on top, supporting his body on his elbows, when she parted her legs allowing him to get between them.

"Turns out, I want more than just a kiss." Brianna said looking straight up at him with a flirtatious look on her face which made Jason smile sweetly over her while he pulled the blanket further up to cover themselves right up to their shoulders.

Brianna wrapped her arms around his body and brought him closer to her when Jason too began to lower his mouth down to hers, for a long and wet kiss.

Not before long, Jason had moved one of his hands and gently caressed along Brianna's body length, starting from her breasts then he moving down to her side and later moving down to her legs and thighs, that wrapped themselves around him, before he moved back up again and repeated the process on the other side.

He then trailed some light kisses around her jaw and neck before he returned back to her mouth while her hands were in his hair, back and neck as the two moved about together in the same teasing sensual motion.

While they kissed, Jason moved one hand beneath Brianna's top and this time around, he was pleasantly surprised to have discovered that she wasn't wearing anything underneath as he was able to touch her warm and passionately heated flesh and could feel her harden nipples as he gently capped and stroked each one in his hand and teased her while he deepened his kiss with his tongue in her mouth for a while until he paused for a moment and took off his thermal tank top while Brianna watched him closely and noticed that his cheeks were looking slightly flushed from being hot under the heat of their fired up foreplay session.

Jason looked down at her for a second, whilst he seat with bended knees, between her legs, to see if she was still in the same upturned and aroused state of mind as him after he had taken off his thermal tank top, he kept his eyes focused on her and watched as she lifted herself off the ground and seat mirroring him in the same way.

Brianna reached for her thermal top too and then removed it swiftly, revealing her firm and perked breasts to him as Jason sat back and took in the full site of beautifully toned and youthful body for the first time, he watched as she come closer to him and climbed over him, wrapping her legs around his waist, placing her arms around his shoulder for support and he too wrapped his arms around her waist and began kissing again then returned back to lying down on the blanket, where Jason then moved his head down and began to suck on each of Brianna's nipples and heard he mourn lightly in enjoyment after he kept giving her delightful sensations.

After a while he moved back up to her mouth and kissed her deeper, once more, while he rubbed his stimulated erection on her groan area and began to breath in much more deeply aroused when he felt one of Brianna's hands move down to his lower abdomen, past his waistline and felt them dig into his jockeys, grabbing every inch of him before she began to gently teased his stiff sex, with him letting her touch and familiarise herself with his genitalia for as long as he could limit himself from cumming.

When the urge to climax became too much to hold back, he stilled her hand just in time; then gently removed her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it before he gave her a tender kiss on the mouth too.

"Why did you stop me?" Brianna asked underneath him.

"I want to try something, just relax, okay." Jason said softly to her and she nodded in agreement.

He brought the blanket further up to cover her upper body as he placed light kisses down the middle of the body and moved further down her legs, once he reached her legs, he moved both his hands on either side her hips and took hold of her boys shorts and slowly removed it from beneath and watched as Brianna's body shift slightly ashamed of being exposed, making Jason pause and travel back up inside the blanket to check on her.

"Are you uncomfortable being naked?" Jason asked her feeling concerned.

"No." she answered shyly.

"Do you wanna stop?" He asked her again wanting to make sure.

"No, I don't." She said to him raising her head up and then kissed him, just to assure him she was fine with what he wanted to do.

"Okay, relax. You're beautiful." Jason said running his hands down the middle chest and threw out the rest of her body until he went back to where he was, he trailed kisses along her right inner thighs slowly until he reached the top of her shaved pubis mons, then he moved to her left inner thigh and trailed kissed along it too until he reached the same point and then moved smoothly to the centre of crotch and trailed kisses down until her reached her sex and then began to trail his tongue delicately, slowly up and down the entrance of her vulva, holding her legs open, firmly resting on top of his shoulder, allowing him to take his time on her.

Brianna's breathing deepen as she mourned lightly again and again, as he continued with his slow seduction advances on her, which felt completely new to her since he had never performed any cunnilingus on her, before that night.

As Brianna continued to revel in Jason's doing, she couldn't help but respond towards his deed by flexing her hips up to him, when he began to gently stroke her sex with one thumb to heighten her pleasure, making her reach her peak several times as she reached her hands down, carefully tugging his hair each time he'd bring up the same overwhelming pleasurable awareness to her body.

"Jason!" Brianna groaned his name out a little louder and he appeared to her almost immediately, breathing highly aroused over her.

"It is too much?" Jason asked her.

"yes." She said breathlessly beneath him, "I want to go all the way with you." she said staring up at him.

"Out here?" Jason asked her once more.

"It's perfect." Brianna put her hands on his face and pulled him in for a light kiss, "I'm taking the pills now." she reassured him and Jason nodded to her affirmation.

"Let's try first and see how far we go, but you need to let me know if it becomes too painful, okay." He said to her.

"Okay." Brianna agreed.

"Kiss me" Jason said softly staring down into her eyes before they both closed them and continued with a little bit of more passionate kissing and foreplay.

A few moments later, Jason reached for his jockeys and pulled them down and Brianna caught a slight glimpse of him full nakedness, he then positioned himself on top of her while gently kissing her once, making sure she was still with him, then once he felt she was comfortable enough, he moved one hand down and held his length with one hand and gently brushed himself on her lubricated sex several times, before he made his first attempt to penetrate her.

Brianna tightened her grip beneath Jason, just before he lowered himself at the entrance of her sex.

"Ow!" She moaned uncomfortably at his first attempt, when she felt slight pressure coming from him but managed to pull herself together quickly and gave Jason the go ahead to try again.

Jason tired a second attempt and paused when he saw that she began slightly tense and her legs began to shake.

"This is where we'll stop." Jason said touching her face tenderly.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why my legs always give in." Brianna apologised to him.

"It's okay, you're a little nervous that's all." He kissed her forehead gently, "Let's get dressed." he suggested.

Jason helped Brianna up and they both got dressed quickly in front of each other, while exchanging sweet looks and smiled at each other timidly, once they were both done, Brianna folded the blankets while Jason put out the bonfire and after that, they both walked back up into the cabin.

"See you in the morning." Brianna whispered quietly to Jason when they were standing by her bedroom door.

"See you." Jason kissed her again, before he let her go to sleep.

When Brianna got into the room, she shut the door behind her and paused for a few seconds daydreaming and looking like she was over the moon with what had happened outside which brought a big smile on her face, a few seconds later, she noticed Chloe that was still awake and staring at her in with a comfy long sleeve pyjamas wondering what had happen, still holding one of her fashion magazines in front of her that she had brought along the trip.

"What's happened out there?" Chloe asked curiously with a big smile on her face too, putting her magazine down.

"The usual." Brianna said to her while she got ready to sleep and then pulled back the bed covers.

"Really, that's why you smiling ear to ear. You guys have been on foreplay mode for a while now." Chloe said to her.

"Yeah, but we've never really been, fully naked." Brianna told her softly, feeling animated.

"You guys had sex?" Chloe eyes widened with interest and in anticipation to Brianna's response.

"We, almost had sex." Brianna said slowly.

"What do you mean almost, if you both were naked?" Chloe raised a voice slightly unwittingly.

"Shhh, Chloe! Talk a little softer, Jason's next door" Brianna whispered to her.

"Sorry." Chloe apologized.

"We tried doing it; remember you told me once that the first time will be a little sore, it hurt a little and we stopped there." Brianna told Chloe.

"Well at least you've gone past the foreplay now."

"We almost there." Brianna said with a dreamy smile on her face, stretched out on the bed.

"Trust me when I say this, once you get the full bite of it, you'll want more and more and more and more…" Chloe said rotating her hips in a circular motion while seated on the bed with her legs crossed in front of her with the blanket covering her legs.

Brianna threw a pillow at her before she could continue with any more of her demonstrative gestures.

"Let's sleep, it's late." Brianna suggested.

"Sure." Chloe threw the pillow back at her and the two adjusted themselves in bed to sleep.

"Goodnight." Chloe said reaching for the side light.

"Goodnight." Brianna said and they both soon fell asleep soon afterwards.

Christmas morning arrived and Paige woke up extra early to make a big breakfast for everyone, Lucinda helped set the table while Tye made the bed and then went up to have a shower to wake himself up.

Everyone was gathered around the table for breakfast around 9am and were all excited over opening their Christmas presents and so, once breakfast was done, Brianna and Jason washed up the dishes while everyone else went back upstairs to the bedrooms to ready for the gifts opening.

Chloe put on her Santa female dress with some black stockings, white fleece boots and finished the look with the Christmas hat, and went on downstairs to join the other by the fire place by the Christmas tree where some Christmas music played too.

"Wow, you lookin' good, Chloe!" Lucinda said to her.

"I'm glad you like it" Chloe said to her placing herself in front of the Christmas tree. "Okay everyone, let's get into the spirit of Christmas" Chloe said cheerfully. "Okay, let's see, where do we start" Chloe searched for a present, "Oh, here's one from Jason to " Chloe picked a present and gave to Paige.

"Thank you Santa Chloe." Paige said and them opened the present to find a long silk printed scarf, "Wow, I love it, thank you Jason." Paige said and they hugged each other.

"Pleasure " Jason said to her.

"Okay, this one is from me to Tye" Chloe said and handed a box to him, which he opened excitedly and found a pair to Timberland boots.

"These are dope, thanks Santa Chloe." Tye hugged Chloe briefly.

"Alright, this one in from Brianna to Jason." Chloe handed a box to Jason and Brianna watched him open the box anxiously awaiting his reaction to the light brown Fossil Swiss Automatic leather watch which she bought with a matching light brown leather wallet and a matching leather belt.

"Thank you Bri, three in one, I love it." Jason kissed and hugged Brianna.

"I glad you like it." Brianna smiled at him.

Chloe continued to hand out the rest of the presents and soon everyone was unwrapping and hugging each other throughout the entire process of finding out what was inside the boxes.

Chloe was mostly satisfied with the presents she received from Jason, Tye and Brianna.

She received a white knee high platform pair of boots from Tye, a white and pink polo handbags from Jason and Brianna got her, a white strap leather Guess watch that she loved.

Brianna too got a bag from Jason, but hers was a black and silver guess handbag, which she retrieved from a box, she thanked Jason for the present and got right into removing the fill in paper from inside the bag and as she did, she felt an objects inside, it felt like a box of some sort, she processed in removing it and took out a square white box that hadn't been wrapped, she opened the and retrieved from it a heart shaped silver plated trinket box engraved with the words; _Brianna Violet Rose Johnson, Will You Marry Me?._

Brianna sat motionless for a moment and felt her hands start to shake nervously in response to what she had just read.

She looked back down and read the message engraved on the box once more and then looked up to find Jason in front of her, holding her hands steady together when she still shook nervously holding the trinkets box.

Everyone paused and watched on, when they became aware of Jason's surprise engagement proposal to Brianna, which too came as a surprise to them too, because they all thought he was going to go the old traditional way, after the Christmas dinner, except for Chloe of course.

"Hi." Jason made eye contact with her when he placed one hand under her chin.

"Is this for real or am I dreaming?" Brianna asked him still in disbelief with tears of joy falling down her face.

Jason gently reached for the trinket box in her hand and her eyes followed, he opened the lid and revealed a ring to her, Brianna's heart felt as though it skipped a beat when she saw that Jason wasn't kidding, he took the ring in his hand and looked at her once more then said.

"It's as real as it gets. And this is me, asking you, in front of everyone here. Brianna Violet Rose Johnson, will you marry me?" Jason held the ring out.

"Yes." Brianna said straight away.

"Yes." Jason repeated.

"Yes, a thousand times yes." Brianna said giving her right shaky hand to him, Jason took in a deep breath of relief and put the ring on her, right hand, ring finger and then they kissed and hugged each other tightly while everyone around them celebrated their happiness.

"Congrates!" Chloe moved in and hugged both Brianna and Jason while the two were still sitting on the floor.

"See, she said yes." Paige said to Jason after he got up so she could congratulate him.

"Mama, you knew he was going to propose me?" Brianna asked when she heard the two.

"We all knew." Tye said right after he had the chance to congratulate his sister.

"Even you Chloe?" Brianna asked.

"I was the first to know!" Chloe burst out and Brianna eyed her out, "Nah ha, don't give me that look, it wouldn't have been a surprise if I had told you, but Jason, you really pulled out a surprise there. That's not what we planned" Chloe said playfully punching Jason on the shoulder.

"I thought you would've done it last night." Mike said.

"Last night?" Brianna said.

"I told my dad and Chloe that I was going to do it on Christmas Eve, but I though Christmas morning would be better." Jason told Brianna.

"I say it was perfect." Brianna smiled at him.

"Ho Ho Ho, can you guys here that? Christmas has just become even merrier, so let's continue celebrating" Chloe suggested to everyone.

After all the present were all opened and all the wrapping was cleared, everyone went back into their rooms to pack away some of their presents before the preparations for the big dinner could start, Paige made a few sandwiches in the afternoon for the men who felt a little peckish before dinner and later on, Chloe and Lucinda set out the table while Brianna and Paige finished up on the cooking and the cleaning in the kitchen while the three men set in front of the fire place taking turns at playing some Chess, which was a present given to Mike by Lucinda, since she didn't know him that well and had to think of some sort of present to give him.

At 7pm everyone was seated around the dinner table and held their hands together while Paige said grace before they began to eat.

"Merry Christmas everyone one." Mike proposed a toast at the table.

"Merry Christmas." They all responded back raising their glasses of non-alcoholic champagne, in consideration of Lucinda who was expecting.

"And congratulations to the newly engaged couple, we wish you both happiness and everlasting love." Mike toasted to Brianna and Jason.

"Congratulations." everyone toasted once more and continued with their appetizing meal of roasted beef tenderloin, roasted potatoes, vegetables, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and gravy.

"I can't believe we have to go back tomorrow, where has the time gone?" Paige said making some conversation at the table.

"You can say that again, four nights have flown past so quickly." Mike added.

"But is has been the best Christmas we've ever had, with so much to look forward to when we get back home, I mean, we have a wedding to plan, I'm so excited, I can't wait." Chloe said ecstatically.

"Speaking about weddings, you both better start thinking of a time frame, coz weddings venues in Chicago fill up quickly." Lucinda said to the couple.

"That's right." Chloe agreed

"Wedding venues? Who needs it, I could get married right here tonight, if I had too." Jason said sweetly turning to look at Brianna.

"Oh Jason, that's sweet." She smiled at him, brightly.

"I'm pretty sure Bri dreams of a wedding day just like every other girl does, right Bri? With the dress, the cake, the flowers the whole vows and the first dance." Chloe asked her.

"Sure I do, but I don't mind the spontaneous sort of ceremony too." Brianna said sweetly looking back at Jason.

"No Bri, I'm not going to let, my one only best friend have some pop up ceremony, no, no, no. You both are like the first ones that will be walking down the aisle, you need to set the path for the rest of us." Chloe said looking straight at Tye and Lucinda, who eyed Tye out too.

"Chloe, I can just see that you'll be planning this whole wedding by yourself." Paige said.

"With my best friend and my big brother's interest at heart of course, but come on, we'll need to have fun though, right?" Chloe said to her brother.

"We will Chloe, don't worry, I'm just kidding, I'd love to see Bri in a white dress too." Jason told her.

"See Chloe, you can still get to plan a wedding after all." Tye said to her.

"Yeah, I can plan their one first and then I could plan yours and Lucinda's later, what do you say to that Tye?" Chloe asked him.

"I say, let's just focus on one wedding at a time." Tye responded.

"Ya 'right!" Lucinda stared Tye out.

"Any one for desert." Paige offered getting up from the table.

After dinner, everyone gathered around the fire place once more to relax while some Christmas music continued to play in the background.

Jason and Brianna were lying on the carpet by the fire under a blanket resting their head on some pillows, while Tye and Mike continued with a game of chess and Chloe, Paige and Lucinda sat on the 3 sitter couch facing the fire place too while having some women chat.

"You happy?" Jason asked Brianna holding her hand up to look at the ring on her finger.

"Very happy, I honestly didn't see it coming."

"Not even when you heard me talking to Paige at the grocery store?" Jason turned and faced her.

"No, I had no clue." she responded sweetly, turning to face him too.

"I'm happy you said yes." Jason kissed her hand.

"Now we just need to set a date, right?" Brianna said.

"Yeah, but before we do, you need to promise me that you'll register for college first." Jason told her.

"Is that something you and Tye discussed after you engaged me?" Brianna asked.

"No, I just thought of it myself, because I still want you to register and get in on time." Jason said to her, "I don't want you to loss focus on that part of your life." he continued.

"I won't, not when I have you and Tye around to remind me of it." Brianna said smiling.

"I'm serious Bri; you need to get in before we even set a date for us."

"I will." Brianna assured him.

"I Love you." Jason said to her.

"I Love you too." she said to him and they snuggled up in front of the fire place.

By the 29th of December 2010, life went back to normal for everyone when they all got back to work that week, when Brianna's close colleagues at work noticed her engagement ring, they congratulated her and were truly happy for her too.

New Year came the following week and the young crowd got together to celebrate it at a club in central Chicago.

Chloe got so drunk that night and she pasted out at Brianna's house when she went inside to have a wee and couldn't get up from the bathroom floor.

Jason and Brianna picked her up from the floor and placed her on Brianna's bed then left her sleeping while both of they made themselves comfortable on the couch and fell asleep in each other's arms.

A week after New Year, Tye was with Lucinda when they decided to tell her mother about her pregnancy, Lucinda's mother reacted in the way she was expecting and told her to leave the house, Lucinda packed her things and left with Tye, to start a new life with him and the child she carried. She apologized to her mother before she left and said goodbye to her sisters before she got in the car with him, when she got to the house, Brianna and Paige consoled her and made her feel right at home while Tye took her things up to their bedroom that they'd now have to share.

As the weeks pasted Lucinda began to feel more comfortable living with the Johnson's and baby bump began to show.

Brianna managed to sign herself up into a college and told Jason, who was happy with the news and soon they began to have discussions on wedding dates.

"I want us to get married at the end of spring." Brianna said.

"Not summer?" Jason asked.

"Close to summer." Brianna said, "On our one year anniversary as being boyfriend as girlfriend" she suggested.

"I like that idea" Jason said while they were lying in his bed.

"I'm glad you like it, but now it's time for you and me to get serious." Brianna said shifting her body on top of him leaning over for a kiss. They began kissing for a moment until they heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" Mike said from the other side.

"Sure." Jason said when Brianna shifted off him.

"Is it safe?" Mike asked.

"Yeah Dad." Jason assured him and he walked in.

"I hope I'm not interrupting" Mike said apologising, "Jason, can I have a word with you?" Mike asked him.

"Right now?" Jason asked him.

"I was just thinking about something that I wanted to talk to you about, something that came to me now." Mike told him.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk, I'll be in Chloe's bedroom with her." Brianna said and excused herself out of Jason's bedroom.

"What's on your mind, dad?" Jason asked Mike sitting up on his bed.

"I was just thinking about you and Brianna's plans on getting married. Have you guys set a date yet?" Mike asked Jason.

"We've just literally thought of date; before you knocked on the door, but we still need to check the calendar, why do ask?" Jason wanted to know.

"I was just thinking about the time when your mom and I were planning our wedding; I remember the costs that were involved in planning the whole thing. Look Jason, what I'm trying to ask you is, have you looked at costs of weddings these days?" Mike asked him.

"To be honest with you dad, I actually haven't even began to think about that." Jason said thoughtfully.

"Exactly, that's why I'm here to talk to you about it." Mike said to him.

"Okay?" Jason seemed muddled up.

"Remember, I when I told you and Chloe about the money I won in Vegas?"

"Yes."

"Well, I haven't touched that money yet, and the only reason I haven't touched it yet is because I didn't know what do to with it, until now."

"What are you trying to say dad?"

"Jason, I want to do something good with that money, I want to give you a portion of that money, just so it can help you with planning for a wedding or help you with putting a deposit down for a new place, to help you start up with something."

"Dad, nah, really, it's your money, you should probably invest it somewhere, I'll make a plan to pay for our wedding and other things."

"How? By taking a loan or a credit card?"

"Yeah, and paying it back."

"Jason, you and your sister are the most important people to me. I'd rather investment in making sure that both of you have some sort of start up with me helping in some sort of way or the other. All I've ever done these years is take everything away from both of you, I know that what I have at this point is not a lot, but I'm hoping it will help in some way or the other. So what do say, will you accept my help?" Mike offered him.

"I don't know what to say, dad."

"Say you accept my helping hand" Mike told him.

"Okay." Jason smiled at his dad and then they embraced each other. "Thanks dad." Jason said to him after they hugged and Mike left his bedroom afterwards.

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Months pasted and Brianna took a student loan and began to attend college on a full-time basis when she started studying towards her accounting degree, and going to college full-time meant that she had to leave her daytime job to find another.

So, she started working as a bar tender and cashier at a night bar and grill five days a week near West side.

Her new job required late hours from time to time, but by her working there she could continue earning some money to pay towards her study material and student loan.

Brianna worked mostly behind the bar during their busiest nights, which were Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, the rest of time she would serve the tables as a waitress, which she surprisingly enjoyed much more especially since she received better tips from serving tables.

She attended college classes from morning till afternoon which ran from Monday right through to Friday and after classes, when she had to go to work, she'd go home for a quick shower and then head straight to work which started at 6pm till late.

Brianna's new boss was a young brunette man who was in his early thirties; he was tall, well-built and had light brown hazel green eyes.

The bar and grill she worked in was owned by him and had been given to him by his parents, who got too old and couldn't keep up with the late night working hours anymore, and decided to retired.

Lenny was his name, but the people closest to him, called him 'Len' for short, but he insisted that everyone who worked for him called him Len.

Len had a preference when it came to hiring people, he preferred having younger females working for him at the bar and grill more than young males for some reason.

The dress code he had set out for the working females at his night bar and grill during summer, were that they all had to wear a black tank dress, with a short black waist apron, which came with front pockets and had the bar and grill logo in front. The dresses needed to be paired with any colour all-stars sneakers, since they'd be on their feet all night.

When winter came around, the dress code would change to them having to wear, black denims with a black long sleeve round neck shirt had to be worn, he also requested that hair and make-up would always be on par and asked everyone to try and be accessible to customers because most of the young females working for him were young college students just like Brianna, who wore their dresses a little more shorter and tighter when compared to hers, which rested below the knee.

The young ladies also brought in and attracted a younger crowd of people who enjoyed drinking and spending money while having fun and showing off to their peers, the sort of younger crowd that tipped quite well too whenever flirting came into play with the ladies, but lucky for Brianna, she managed to keep herself away from that sort of crowd during the crazy nights when she remained behind the bar at the cash register, serving drinks from time to time with Luke, the only guy hired to work at the bar, when she couldn't keep up with the orders.

Jason, didn't really feel comfortable with Brianna's new night job because he left like it took away a lot of spending time together, but every night Brianna worked, he'd drive up to her job and pick her up to take her back home, even when she informed him that he didn't have to be out so late at night since she had the option of using a carpool service after work.

But, Jason insisted on picking her up because he said it gave him peace of mind, which she couldn't argue with, especially when they'd have a quick make out session at the back of the car he'd pick her up on the quite nights.

During the start of the afternoon, over a weekend when they Jason and Brianna had some time, they both when up to the church to meet up with Pastor Marcus, the housing pastor who knew the Johnson's attended since they were little.

Jason and Briannna made an appointment with him, to try and set a date for their religious ceremony.

Once they arrived at the church premises, they were welcomed by Pastor Marcus himself, who had been the head pastor at the church for many years and had realised numerous religious ceremonies at the church.

Pastor Marcus was a humble African American man who lived in West Garfield since he was born, he lived by the word and was justly loved and respected by all the members of the church, because he always provided his full time support and helping hand generously to anyone who needed it and took part in many beneficial community events that encouraged the young and the old to obtain a better life without crime and drugs.

After greeting Pastor Marcus, Jason and Brianna where shown the way to his office and shown too where to take a seat before they began to chat and check the dates that were available for them in June.

After a quick chat with the two, a few dates were checked on the ceremonial book the church kept, and the date available was the 25th of June 2011, Jason and Brianna were quite happy with the date and decided there and then to book their spot, after finalising on the date, Pastor Marcus then took some time aside to tell them about the optional pre-marriage counselling process available at the church, which most couples attended before walking down the aisle.

"Marriage is a very important step in life, between two people, especially youth people such as the two of you. I would highly recommend that you two try and take some time to attend the workshops before the wedding happens in a few months. It might not provide the total insight of marriage after the vows, but it just might enlighten you on how to deal with certain occurrences in your relationship in the nearer future." Pastor Marcus told both Jason and Brianna while they sat holding hands in front of him on two separate chairs placed in front of his desk.

"I'm willing to attend." Brianna said, looking at Jason and then back at Pastor Marcus.

"I'm also willing." Jason agreed and Brianna showed affection towards him, by gently squeezing his hand.

"I can already see that both of you are compliant when making decisions and I can also see that you both are on the right path, the workshops will do you good." Pastor Marcus said to them and after the meeting was done, Jason and Brianna left the church and went straight back home to inform everyone about the set date for the wedding

The following week, the wedding reception venue was found by Chloe when she went on one of her internet and hospitality searches, in and around Chicago.

Chloe searched and found the place that offered her the best deals and got it, when she got a hold of the Hyatt Regency Hotel and booked a meeting with them, and then arranged for everyone to get together, so they could all go and have a look at the venue.

On the weekend, Jason, Brianna, Chloe, Paige, Mike, Tye and Lucinda all went to the venue to have a look and see what Chloe had found and when they all got there; they all fell in love with the location after they were all shown the ceremonial room and the main ballroom in which the main reception would take place.

"Do you like it Bri?" Jason asked Brianna when they stood at a distance away from everyone else.

"I love it." Brianna's face lighted up with a sweet smile, "but it looks like something we can't afford." Brianna said to him.

"Who says we can't?" Jason said to her.

"Jason, with the money we both earning we could probably only afford this place as it stands now, bare. Never mind the décor, the food, the music, the cake."

"We can afford it." Jason interrupted her.

"How?" Brianna asked him.

"I'll tell you all about it when we get home, okay?" Jason told her and Brianna gave him a questionable look.

"Why can't you tell me now?" She asked him.

"Because right now, we need to secure this venue, which you said you loved, so we can have our perfect wedding, because that's what I want us both to have." Jason touched her face and kissed her tenderly.

"Hey, you two. Already imagining yourselves here on your big day?" Chloe said walking towards them.

"Yep." Jason said.

"You guys want it?" Chloe asked, looking at the two with an anxious smile.

"I love it, Chloe. I really do." Brianna said.

"Bu-ut?" Chloe waited for a response.

"There's no but, if they have it available for the planned date and if the price is right, we'll have it here." Jason said to Chloe and she sprang up in excitement.

"Okay, okay, but we know, that the price is not going to be a problem. So, let's go and talk to dad and the hotel manager to seal the deal." Chloe said before she walked off in front of Jason and Brianna to let everyone know that the couple wanted the venue.

"Does Chloe know about what you want to tell me, when we get home?" Brianna asked Jason.

"Yeah, but don't be mad at her for not telling you anything. I told her that I wanted to tell you when the time came." Jason said, "she probably thinks that you know about by now, coz she wouldn't bring us out here if she didn't." Jason continued.

"Did you guys win the lottery or inherited something?" Brianna asked when she and Jason were walking out of the main ballroom.

"Not really, lady luck smiled on my dad a few months ago in Vegas and his offered to help pay for the wedding. So there, I said it" Jason said to her ached a brow in question.

"Jason! Come" Chloe called out to him to walk over and talk further to the hotel manager.

"I'll tell you everything, later." Jason said looking at her and then walked ahead to meet up with Mike and the hotel manager, so they could talk regarding a booking and a holding deposit for the venue.

The days that came after the securing the venue were for finalising the entire wedding, the planning began when Chloe took full charge at helping Brianna make the spot on decisions on the wedding theme she envisioned, while Jason and Mike oversaw the spending when it came to fitting the bill, since they knew that Chloe was very influential and had the tendency of picking out more expensive things, instead of Brianna.

Brianna, Chloe and Paige always made sure to meet up at each and every appointment that was made, by either herself or Chloe, starting from the selection of the wedding colours which were selected as white, silver and purple, to the selection of the invitations of 80 people, to flowers arrangements, the cake tasting and design, the church decoration, the table cutlery and linen settings, which would be provided by the venue and other important details too.

With Brianna, Chloe and Paige on deck, the wedding and the venue preparations were set and concluded, eight weeks before the actual wedding day was to take place and the only thing left do to before then was to get both bride and groom parties together so they could get their attires picked out and fitted for the before the nuptials.

Brianna had decided and convinced Paige and everyone else, that she wanted to go out first and find a dress for the mother of the bride and all her bridesmaid's, before she went out to find her own wedding dress, due to wanting the majority to agree first on what they'd feel more comfortable in wearing, before she could take time in looking for a dress herself without having to worry about everyone else.

Brianna's maid of honour was none either than Chloe and for bridesmaids she choose her twin cousins Alisha and Kalisha, as well as the six and a half month pregnant Lucinda who felt honoured when Brianna asked her to be part of her bridal party.

The ladies met up one weekend at a bridal boutique, which was picked out by Chloe, to decide on what they'd wear, first up was Paige who went on to try a couple of outfits with the store sales consultants and after few minutes, she walked out in a violet colour pants suits which everyone disagreed on the choice, then she tried on a light blue below the knee dress with a jacket and everyone, again disapproved with the second choice.

"I think that maybe, she should try, like a, full dress on." Chloe shared the opinion with the sales assistant while Paige carried on looking at herself in the mirror.

"What dress are you suggesting, Chloe" Kalisha asked Chloe, chewing some gum noisily while giving her a blatant look.

"Yeah, what dress do you suggest, seeing that you insisted on coming into this store" Alisha added, both fully expressing and showing that they weren't too impressed with Chloe's overpowering control of things.

"Excuse me!" Chloe burst out to them, "but I don't recall any of you calling Brianna up and suggesting any other store for us to go to."

"Even if we did, we'd still come here, coz this seems to be more of your wedding than Brianna's." Kalisha told her.

"Kalisha!" Brianna alerted her cousin.

"Y'all just saying that, coz y'all can't stand the fact that she choose me to be her maid of honour instead of one of you!" Chloe said back to them while Brianna sat in between the exchanging of words, while Paige watched on with the sales assistant both abruptly stunned at sassiness that began out the blue.

"Paige, why don't you try this" Lucinda said bringing a dress to her which she decided to pick out herself while the rest of the girls where distracted, ending off the tense build-up between Chloe and the twins just as hastily as it started.

"That dress looks, really nice mama." Brianna said after she saw it.

"Okay, let me go try it on then" Paige said returning to the change room, minutes she walked out in a dark blue chiffon A-line scoop dress, which had lace sleeves that went below the elbows, the dress had an empire waist and the upper part had a semi-sweetheart neckline, the dress also had some finely placed silver beads placed all around where the lace showed through and it looked amazing on Paige's forty year old regular figure. Moments after deliberating, Paige and the rest of the ladies all agreed that the dress was 'the one', once Paige too was certain about her choice she asked the sales consultant to prepare the dress for her to purchase, before she went back to see the choice of braid maids dresses.

"So before we start." the young African American female sales consultant said, "I just need to ask the bride first, on whether there is a specific sort of silhouette and fabrics you looking at for, when it comes to your braid maids dresses?" the she asked looking at Brianna.

"I bought a picture, hoping that you might have these here." Brianna handed a picture over to the sales consultant, which she ripped from a magazine at home.

"Okay, so that looks like a chiffon fabric to me, I'm pretty sure we have similar ones to those in store." The sales consultant said and then went on to ask the ladies their dress sizes, so she could go and get the dresses.

Later she returned to the room with four bead-embellished-line one shoulder knee length purple dresses that had a white natural waist sash on them, the ladies each got up and collected their sized dresses and then moved on to the changing and when they walked out, they seemed happy with the look Brianna had chosen for them to wear, accept for Lucinda, who's dress looked quite high in the front due to her growing bump.

"Is there perhaps, like, a floor length in that dress?" Paige asked the sales consultant on behalf of Lucinda.

"I can go and have a look." The sales consultant said.

"Bri, you sure it's going to look fine with me wearing a long dress? Coz I think my look's going to be quite off." Lucinda said.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Brianna said.

"Brianna, I'm getting an idea." Paige said.

"What is it mama?" Brianna asked interested.

"Why don't you let Chloe and Lucinda wear long dresses, and Kalisha and Alisha wear the short dresses?"

"I think that's a good idea, I mean, we don't all have to look the same, right?" Chloe said.

"I think that's a good idea too, Aunt Paige." Kalisha agreed.

"Let's try and see." Brianna said.

And so the sales consultant left the room and later returned with the requested dresses, Chloe and Lucinda went back into the change room to put on their long dresses and when they were done, they both came out and stood next to each other, Paige's idea of wearing the same dresses with the different lengths, worked well and all ladies seemed to be really happy with the choices.

After the dresses where packed, Chloe fitted the bill of $800.00 for all four the dresses and told Brianna that it was a gift from her, as her maid of honour.

Kalisha and Alisha thanked Chloe afterwards for her kind act after she handed them their dresses before everyone headed out the store.

"So, now that we have the dresses, what colour accessories are we all thinking of getting?" Chloe asked all the bridesmaids while she drove Mike's car to the South Side of Chicago, to drop off the Collin twins at home.

"I think we should all get some silver accessories? It will go well with the colours of dresses." Kalisha suggested first.

"And it's one of the wedding colours too, right cous'?" Alisha said to Brianna.

"Yes." Brianna responded warmly.

"I think silver's great." Chloe agreed straightaway, which made the twins looked at each other surprised by the fact that she didn't second them.

"But, do we all have to have the same accessories?" Lucinda asked everyone.

"I think as long as it's silver, it should be okay, right guys?" Brianna said.

"Yeah." Everyone agreed.

When Chloe got home that afternoon after dropping everyone else off, she found Jason and Tye playing a game of basketball on the new PlayStation console that Tye bought for Jason on his birthday at the start of April.

"Hi guys." Chloe greeted them when she got in.

"Hey Chloe." Tye greeted her without moving his eyes away from the screen.

"Hey sis." Jason greeted too, mirroring Tye gesture.

"Have you guys gone out in search of suits today?" Chloe asked them, taking a seat on the single couch, making herself comfortable, across from them.

"We have, and we've paid for them" Jason answered still focused on the game.

"Well, that's good. We also made progress today, and just so you know, we've also managed to find our dresses." Chloe said.

"Any cat fights break-out between you and the twins?" Tye asked her smirking.

"Almost, but we all grown up now." Chloe replied, "Jason, did you get the exact suits I showed you from the magazine, with the correct colour vests and ties?" Chloe asked Jason.

"Yes ma'am, I showed them the colour you gave me." Jason answered not looking away from the TV screen.

"Don't you ma'am me." Chloe said playfully throwing scatter cushion at Jason.

"You made me miss." Jason said to her when he had been given a free throw.

"Yo Chloe." Tye called to her.

"What Tye?" Chloe responded.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and go make us a sandwich each." Tye suggested her.

"What you boys hungry?" Chloe asked them.

"Starving." Jason said.

"Do I look like Bri or Lucinda to either one of you?" Chloe asked them and Jason paused the game.

"No." Jason go up and walked closer to her and then held her hand in his gently "But you are our precious Chloe" Jason said sweetly to her to try and sway her into making them a sandwich.

"Fine, I'll make you both a sandwich" Chloe said, pulling a won over face at him.

"You're the best" Jason kissed her on the cheek and then went back to continue playing.

Chloe got up from the couch and went straight to the kitchen to make some ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwiches, after she was done making them, she put placed the plate of sandwiches in front of Jason and Tye, on the coffee table with a glass of pepsi each before she went to her bedroom and to call Tyrel and find out what he was up to.

"Tyrel's phone, hello" the high voice of a female answered his phone.

"Who the fuck are you and where the fuck is Tyrel!" Chloe asked her over the phone.

"Excuse me! Don't you have any phone manners?" the female's voice responded.

"Where .Is. Tyrel!" Chloe asked again infuriated and then heard Tyrel taking the phone away from the lady.

"Hey Beautiful." Tyrel answered.

"Who the fuck was that on the phone?" Chloe asked him.

"That's Candies." Tyrel said to her.

"Candies! Candies! Who the hell is Candies and why is she answering your phone!" Chloe yelled at him.

"She's one of Uncle John's girlfriends, his here with me. I went out to get something in my bedroom and she answered my cellphone." Tyrel explained to her.

"You lying!" Chloe said to him.

"Then come over to my place right now and you'll find them here." Tyrel said to her.

"Oh, I'm coming!" Chloe hung up, grabbed her handbag and walked out of her bedroom and then stormed out the front door, taking her dad's car keys and leaving without saying goodbye to neither Jason nor Tye.

"What's up with her?" Tye asked.

"Tyrel." Jason said taking a bite out of his sandwich while he played, "come on focus here." he told Tye.

Chloe was at Tyrel's house in less than ten minutes, she arrived at his house still enraged, and when she reached the front door she didn't even have to knock because it was open.

When she walked in she saw Tyrel and Uncle John sitting on the couch in the sitting room with Candies, counting some money over the sale of drugs, when Tyrel saw her, he got up and went to meet with her by the door.

"So, you still mad at me?" Tyrel asked Chloe and moved to lock the door behind her.

"I was. What's going on?" Chloe said feeling relieved in finding out that he wasn't lying to her when she saw Uncle John and Candies.

"We counting our profits" Tyrel said to her.

"Tyrel, aren't you going to introduce your girlfriend to your Uncle John here." Uncle John asked him moments later.

"Yeah, sure." Tyrel showed Chloe to the sitting room, "Uncle John this here is Chloe, my girlfriend, and Chloe that's Candies" Tyrel introduced her.

"Hi." Chloe greeted politely.

"You can't be the same girl I spoke with on the phone, huh, coz she sure didn't sound like you know." Candies said wrapping a stack of money with some elastic and writing the amount of it in a piece of paper.

Candies was an African American woman in her mid-20's with large breasts and big butt, she was voluptuous and was wearing a tight pink Nike tracksuit with a plunging neckline top beneath the open zip up sweater, leaving her cleavage fully exposed, she also wore big round hanging gold earrings on each ear and had pink highlights in her short weave.

Uncle John on the other hand was in his late 30's and was a tall and dark African American man, he dressed smart in semi-formal clothes and seemed quite poised, one could never really say that he was a dangerous drug lord just by looking at him at first sight, he wore just a gold watch and a gold male chain around his neck and he had quite a friendly smile.

"Good to meet you Chloe" Uncle John said to her getting up from where he was sitting to shake hands briefly, "So you know about our family business?" he asked her taking his seat ones more.

"Ty's told me about it." Chloe answered.

"Can she be trusted, Kid?" Uncle John asked him.

"His been with me long enough to know that." Chloe answered back to Uncle John.

"I see this one's got you by the balls kid." Uncle John said to Tyrel after he got an immediate response from Chloe instead of him.

"She's just snappy at times, but she's good." Tyrel responded to him.

"Come on and join us in counting all this cash." Uncle John said to Chloe and she obeyed him.

"Start here" Tyrel showed her where to start counting after he allowed Chloe to take a seat on a single couch across from his and Uncle John.

"You know Chloe, you sort of remind me of a white girl I had once." Uncle John said to her after a while, when he had a chance to check Chloe out.

"Really." Chloe said back to him.

"Yeah, she was just like you, blonde, had attitude and enjoyed having a lot of black fellas around to show them a good time." Uncle John said to her.

"Well I'm only interested in Tyrel." Chloe said to him.

"Yeah—but Kid knows that something he has to pass the joint around for others to take a puff out of it too, especially when it's Uncle John who wants it." Uncle John said, and Chloe paused to look at Tyrel who suddenly seemed a little uneasy at the words he heard come out of his uncle's mouth.

"Chloe, don't you have some place to go, we'll finish up here." Tyrel said getting up from the couch and helping Chloe get up.

"Come on Kid, we just getting to know each other a little better." Uncle John said.

"Chloe make up an excuse to leave" Tyrel said to her under his breath.

"I need to go, my dad needs his car back, nice to meet you, Uncle John, Candies" Chloe excused herself and Tyrel showed her out.

"You shouldn't have come here!" Tyrel told her when they were outside by the car.

"I'm sorry." Chloe said to him.

"His curious about you now." Tyrel said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked him.

"When he talks about passing a joint, he means he wants a taste of you." Tyrel said to her.

"That's gross if he thinks I'm ever going there, with him!" Chloe said at the thought of being intimate with Uncle John.

"His got his ways of getting woman to like him even if they don't want to. Listen, you must never come around here when his here, okay?" Tyrel said to her.

"Okay." she replied back to him.

"Now go, I'll call you later." Tyrel said to her, and then she kissed him before she left and headed straight back to the apartment to call Brianna and confide in her on the latest occurrences.

Over the next few weeks, Chloe and Tyrel saw very little of each other purely for the fact that Uncle John kept asking Tyrel about her since that day he saw her, and he kept coming over to his house unexpectedly hoping to find her there.

To try and make him disappear, Tyrel made up a story and said to him, that he and Chloe had broken up and also added by saying that she moved out of the neighbourhood after their break up, which worked when Uncle John believed him and soon stopped asking him about Chloe.

Once Uncle John was handled, Tyrel and Chloe chose a different place to start spending their time together, that place became the Millers apartment, whenever Jason and Mike weren't around.

While Brianna studies and paged through some her college books during the day when she was in class, she would also page through some bridal magazines during the night looking for a dress with Paige, Chloe and Lucinda, who provided her with a helping hand in finding her address for the wedding which wasn't too far off.

"There are just too many beautiful dresses in these magazines." Brianna said helplessly after dinner when all women were sitting with her around the dining room, each viewing and going through a bridal magazine too, after Jason and Tye left and went over to Bowie's place to watch a live game on Bowie's big screen with the rest of the fellas on Monday night.

"I agree, but I'm sure you've seen a dress that's spoken to you the loudest." Paige said to her.

"Mama, they all speaking to me." Brianna said feeling slightly overwhelmed looking at all the bridal magazines on the table.

"Maybe we should just close and put away these magazines for today." Chloe said feeling slightly concerned about Brianna's overwhelmed state of mind.

"No, don't do that, I'm running out of time in finding a dress" Brianna said.

"Bri, you'll find one, let's leave it for tonight." Lucinda said to her.

"I have an idea." Brianna's face suddenly face lit up, "Since you all here to help me pick a dress, why don't each one of you pick a dress that you think will best suit me and then I'll pick the one I like most out of three and take that picture with me to try and find it when we go to bridal store this weekend." Brianna shared her thoughts.

"Bri, your wedding dress should be chosen by you, not us." Chloe said to her.

"Chloe's right sweetheart, we just here to give our options on the dress." Paige added.

"I know, but just think about it, I might just fall in love with something one of you pick for me, better then something I pick. What do you say?" Brianna said to them.

"I'm willing to help." Lucinda said.

"Thanks Lu." Brianna smiled at her, "What do you say, mama, Chloe?" Brianna waited for them.

Chloe sighed and then said to her, "I'll do it, but only if we choose the dresses without you seeing who's chosen it."

"Okay" Brianna agreed.

"I'll go with Chloe option too." Paige said to her.

"Alright, I'll leave you guys to it then and I'll come back in thirty minutes." Brianna said to them and left the room, to return thirsty minutes later and find the three picked out dresses.

"So, what do you think?" Chloe said standing next to her when she was looking down at the dresses place in front of her on the dining room table.

"I like all of them." Brianna said.

"What!" Chloe said in disbelief.

"They all different from each other" Brianna said analysing all three dresses.

"Could you pick one?" Paige asked her.

"I want to try all three" Brianna said smiling.

"You're so, indecisive." Chloe said and Brianna shrugged her shoulders.

The weekend came and Brianna, Chloe, Paige and Lucinda walked in a bridal boutique to try help out once again with Brianna's choice of dresses, with the wedding day being just six weeks away.

Brianna was the one who found the bridal boutique online and called in during the week and made the foremost appointment with one of the professional sales consultants, whose name was Mandy. The bridal boutique she found was charming and inviting, starting from the entrance door, which displayed the most stunning dresses, right throughout the show floor and right up to the private enclosed dressing cubicles which came with a separate changing room and standing booth with surrounding mirrors to allowed the bride to have a look at herself in different angles and there was also a couch available for the bridal party to take a sit while they waited.

Mandy, the sales consultant that came through to the appointment on time and greeted everyone, she was young blonde women who looked like she was in her late 20's and had piercing blue eyes and seemed very friendly and easy-going. She offered everyone some drinks and made sure they all felt comfortable before she and Brianna could get started, the boutique was lively with a lot of brides to be and Mandy, didn't want to waste any time or miss out on finding the perfect dress for Brianna.

"So Brianna, last time we spoke on the phone you said that you'd bring some pictures of the dresses you wanted to try on, did bring those pictures along?" Mandy asked her.

"Yes I did." Brianna said excited, "Here they are." Brianna handed the half folded pages of a magazine to Mandy who went through them briefly.

"Wow, these are very different silhouettes" Mandy said looking at all three.

"All three came from those three lovely ladies on the couch" Brianna said smiling to Mandy.

"And where's the one you've chosen?" Mandy asked her.

"I had a difficult time finding one, so I asked them to help me out" Brianna responded.

"Oh, Okay, it's alright? I've had a bride like you before, who's also came in here with the same sort of idea, and just so you know, it turned out quite well for her. So out of the three, do you know who chose which dress?" Mandy asked her.

"No, I don't." Brianna said.

"We decided on our way here that, she needs to guess, when she tries each one on." Chloe said.

"Oh I see, just so she can give an honest opinion about the dresses, right?" Mandy said.

"Right." Chloe said.

"Alright, well. I'm going to head out back and see if I can find these exact dresses, okay? I'll be right back." Mandy said leaving the room with the pictures in her hand.

"The moment of truth is fast approaching." Paige said to Brianna.

"I'm really feeling excited to see some of those dresses on me." Brianna said.

"And I can't wait to see you, in the one I picked." Chloe said.

"I'm sure we all dying to see Bri in the dresses we've all picked." Lucinda said.

"But I think mine will be 'the one'." Paige added.

"I think mine is pretty good too." Chloe said.

"Let's just leave it to Bri to decide on that..." Lucinda said, "...but she'll probably go with mine, seeing that mine stands out more" Lucinda added.

"Whoa, ladies. I can see a rivalry forming here" Brianna said.

"Here we are" Mandy said coming back in with the three dresses, "Shall we?" she showed Brianna the way into the changing room and she followed, then Mandy placed all the dress on a rail and allowed Brianna to analysed each one by touching and feeling the fabrics.

"They all so beautiful." Brianna beamed.

"Let's try one on then, shall we" Mandy said to her "And I think, let's start with this one" she picked out the white tulle sweetheart applique pleated ball gown dress and helped Brianna get it on.

"Ready or not, here I come" Brianna said moving out the changing room to stand on the elevated standing block to fully view herself in front of a mirror, while Mandy walked around her straightening the dress out while the rest studied the dress on her figure.

"So, you like it?" Mandy asked Brianna and she turned to look at Paige, Chloe and Lucinda for an answer.

"What do you guys think?" Brianna asked them.

"You go first and then we'll say what we think." Chloe said.

"Okay, I like the bodice, but I don't think the bottom's going to work for me, it's too much fabric." Brianna said looking at herself in the mirror.

"Okay." Mandy said first.

"I think the bottoms too much as well." Lucinda added.

"Me too." Paige said.

"Yeah, I think that the dress is pretty much a wrong choose." Chloe said lastly.

"Okay, let's move on to the next one then" Mandy suggested and helped Brianna step down from the elevated stand.

"Hold up, wait a minute, you need to guess first on whom you think chose that dress, remember?" Lucinda said just before Brianna and Mandy disappeared into the changing room.

"Oh yeah." Brianna said walking back with a smile on her face, she stood and looked at all three women's facial expression then said "I think this dress was chosen by, Chloe?"

"How did you know?" Chloe said surprised.

"It's shiny and out there." Brianna said to her.

"You know me too well." Chloe said to her before she walked back to try on another dress.

The second dress Brianna put on was a strapless A-line white embroidered beading crimson satin dress that also had a sweetheart neckline and had a lace up back.

Brianna walked out of the changing room for the second time and stood on the elevated stand once more.

She looked at herself in the mirror and straight away felt unsure.

"What are you thinking?" Mandy asked her.

"I like it because it's simple, but I'm not so keen on the petti coat underneath and the shiny fabric" Brianna told her.

"I also think that the fabric's a little different now that I see it on you." Lucinda commented first.

"It's a pretty dress, I must say, but I think you should be sure of it." Paige said to her.

"I'll give it a miss." Chloe said straightaway.

"Okay, I think it's time to guess who might have chosen this one for you?" Mandy said.

"No! Hold that thought." Chloe said.

"Why?" Brianna asked.

"Because there's only one dress to go and if you guess this one right, the next one will quite obvious before you've even tried it on." Chloe said to her.

"That makes sense, let's get you in the last dress then." Mandy said and Brianna followed.

The last and third dress Brianna tried out on, was a pure white strapless sweetheart column elegant lace dress that had a bow sash and a small plain sweep train.

Brianna walked out of the dressing room with a big smile on her face and everyone could tell that she seemed to like the lace dress better than the others.

She stood at the elevated stand for the third time and studied her figure in the dress looking at the mirror.

"You haven't stopped smiling." Mandy said to looking up at Brianna when she kept her eyes fixed on the dress.

"I like it, I really do. I like the lace. I can see myself walking down the aisle in this dress. What do you guys think?" Brianna asked everyone else's views.

"I like it too, but I think that it needs something more, like an accessory around the waist or on the sash." Lucinda gave her opinion.

"I think lace suits you best, but I think the bottom could open up a little more." Paige said.

"I agreed, I love the lace on you, I love it! But I feel like the dress is too-" Chloe said.

"Plain and straight forward." Brianna finished her sentence.

"Yeah." Chloe said, "I mean, maybe you should tell Mandy what you'd put and take out of this dress and then maybe Mandy can try and find something close to it." Chloe said standing closer to Brianna.

"Chloe's right. Seeing that you've tried all three dresses and you've already established that you like lace, why don't you just try and tell me what you'd like more or less out a lace silhouette." Mandy said to Brianna and she deliberated her thoughts in her head about a possible dress.

"I'd like to try a lace dress that opens out a little more at the bottom, and then I'd like a strap hold at the top part or something like that, just so the top feels more comfy." Brianna said.

"Okay, what about the back?" Mandy listened attentively.

"I don't really mind if the back is opened or closed" Brianna said.

"Alright, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go out there again and see if I can find two more; lace dresses for you to try on, taking into consideration what you've asked, of course. Let me take back all three dresses and I'll be right back with the other two." Mandy said and then she and Brianna moved on to the changing room.

"I'm sorry for being such a pain." Brianna said to Mandy in the changing room.

"Don't worry, I do this all the time, trust me, I've had to bring out fifteen dress up ones, just for one bride, so you relax, you no pain at all, okay." Mandy said smiling at Brianna through the changing room mirror while she was unzipping the lace dress.

"Okay." Brianna felt relaxed.

Once Mandy had all three dresses in hand, she then went out once more in search of the two dresses she thought would best deliver on what Brianna wanted, once she had let the room, Brianna walked out wearing a pink silk robe and went to sit with Paige, Chloe and Lucinda for a while until and waited for Mandy's return which came 15 minutes later.

"Brianna, I have them." Mandy said to her.

"Hopefully 'the one' is there." Chloe said to Brianna.

"Fold thumbs" Brianna said getting up and going straight back to the changing room.

"Okay, this time, I've brought in covered dresses, because I didn't want you so see and like all of them at the same time like the first three we had here, okay" Mandy said to her.

"Alright, I like that approach" Brianna said.

"Let's try on, dress number one" Mandy said then unzipped the first dress, which was a white lace concise scoop dress with a lace-up and a court train.

Once the dress was on, Brianna walked out the room and stood on the elevated stand, she looked at herself in the mirror displeased and then looked at everyone's facial expression and saw that the dress wasn't 'the one'.

"Do I even have to ask?" Mandy said.

"No." Brianna got off the stand and went straight back into the changing room.

"Okay, let's try on dress number two" Mandy said and Brianna looked on, in anticipation for the next dress.

The dress Mandy retrieved from, the cover was a, stunning white lace mermaid tulle embellished with sleeves, the dress had a sweetheart neckline, a keyhole back and came with a gorgeous court train.

Brianna smiled at herself brightly once more in the changing room mirror and felt that, that dress spoke to her the loudest. When Mandy was done closing her up, she stepped out of the changing room and feeling overjoyed when she saw the same look of bliss that she had on her face on the face of Paige, Chloe and Lucinda.

She stepped onto the elevate stand for the last time and looked at the beautiful dress, and thought to herself that it looked perfect from every angle.

"So what are we thinking now." Mandy said.

"I love it." Brianna said straight away.

"It's fabulous." Lucinda said.

"It's perfect, Bri." Chloe said.

"Wait mom, hold that thought." Mandy and ran out to get a full length lace veil and then placed it on Brianna's head with a small silver tiara to complete the full bridal look and then she said, "Now, what do you say mom?" Mandy asked Paige who suddenly began too overwhelmed and started to shade tears of joy as she stood beside her daughter and holding hands.

"You like it mama?" Brianna asked, also feel emotionally overwhelmed.

"You look perfect, baby." Brianna wiped the tears of her mother's face and kissed her hand.

"So, is this the dress?" Mandy asked Brianna.

"Yes, yes it is." Brianna responded.

"Oh, It's a beautiful dress Bri,.Jason's mouth is going to drop open when he sees you in it" Chloe said to her before she then offered to help Brianna take the dress off, to distract her while Paige asked to have a word with Mandy in private.

"Lu, where's mama?" Brianna asked Lucinda once she and Chloe were done taking off the dress and she had put on her normal clothes.

"She's just gone out for a minute, she'll be back." Lucinda said.

"And where's Mandy?" Brianna asked.

"Um, there she is." Lucinda pointed behind her.

Brianna turned and saw Mandy and Paige walk back in together and both smiling at each other.

"Mandy, thank you so much for everything, I really love the dress and now I'd like to pay for it." Brianna said sweetly to her.

"There's no need for that, your mom's already paid for it." Mandy informed her.

"What, mama?" Brianna said surprised to hear the news.

"It's my gift to you, seeing that I don't have the old precious jewel that most families hand down to their daughters when they about to get married, plus I did it before you found out because I knew you wouldn't have let me pay for it" Paige said to her.

"Oh, mama" Brianna gave her a warm embrace, "Thank you, thank you so much." she appreciated her gift.

"I love you sweetheart." Paige said to her.

"I love you too mama." She said.

"Okay, I think we should keep some of touching feeling for the wedding, coz right now we need go find a safe place for this wonderful dress back at the house." Chloe said holding Brianna's wrapped up dress in her hand and feeling a little overwhelmed herself, before they all left the bridal boutique and headed straight to Brianna's house to safely put away the dress in Paige's closet, where they knew would be hidden away from wondering eyes.

The wedding was only three weeks away, and during the approaching date, Jason and Brianna managed to take some time off and found an apartment for them Near West Side, where the location best fitted their working and studying distance, they both also took some time to find and purchase some furniture for their modest one bedroom apartments, which came with one full bathroom and an open plan kitchen, dining area and sitting area. Brianna insisted on using some of her money she had saved for the wedding, to purchase the electronics and appliances for their apartment while Jason put down the deposit for the apartment and paid a six months' rent in advance with the money his dad split between him and Chloe after all the wedding expenses were covered, with each one getting $15,000.00.

Jason didn't want Brianna to use any of her money on anything, since he had enough, but to avoid having a fight with her, he let her do what she wanted. Once the apartment was done, they both agreed that they'd only move in together after their wedding day, since Pastor Marcus had advised them to do so during their last few couple's sessions at church during selective Monday nights when Brianna wasn't working, Pastor Marcus had also advised them to try and spend a week away from each other before their wedding day came, just so both of them could build up some more excitement towards seeing each other at the altar. Brianna was keen on the idea, but Jason wasn't too sure about spending more time apart since he felt that he already saw very little of her when she worked .

"Come on Jason, it will be fun." Brianna said when they were in the car outside Brianna's house after their last couples session.

"Bri, I'm going to be miserable with you for a week" Jason said caressing her face.

"No you're not" Brianna said, shifting closer to him in the car.

Jason sighed, "You really want to do this, huh?" Jason asked her.

"Yes." Brianna confirmed to him.

"I'll compromise." Jason gave her a smile of approval and kissed her mouth tenderly.

The next day Chloe was at the Brianna's house early in the morning after she dropped Mike off at work, to pick her up so they could go and do some wedding night shopping.

Paige was at work and Brianna's decided to skip college for a day without letting Jason know.

Lucinda was at home resting and decided to join both Chloe and Brianna after she was invited.

The ladies went to the mall for a lingerie hunt and soon walked into a store to have a look around for something sexy that Brianna to could wear.

"Uh, this one looks good." Lucinda said taking a white lace corset bra with matching lace panties and showing it to Brianna who blushed at the idea of Jason seeing her in such lingerie.

"It's, really nice." Brianna said touching the material.

"But she needs something more innocent then that." Chloe said suddenly appearing behind Brianna.

"Something innocent? Come on now, we all know there's nothing innocent about the first wedding night." Lucinda said with an impish look on her face.

"You haven't told her?" Chloe asked Brianna, and Brianna suddenly felt a little self-conscious about opening up to reveal her sexual status.

"Told me what?" Lucinda asked returned to the racks.

"I'm still a virgin." Brianna told Lucinda.

"Oh!" Lucinda was surprised to hear.

"Yep." Brianna said slowly.

"How come you still a virgin with a guy like Jason though?" Lucinda asked her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Brianna asked.

"Look, all I'm saying is, Jason and Tye are the same age, right."

"Right"

"And as you can see just by looking at me, guys their age can't leave the pussy alone." Lucinda said it straight out to Brianna and she blushed one more at her straightforward comment.

"It's true what she saying, you know." Chloe agreed with Lucinda.

"I guess Jason and I have just been taking things, very slowly." Brianna said.

"Too slowly if you ask me." Chloe said and Brianna playfully nudged at her.

"What?" Chloe said to her.

"Jason really cares about you, that's why his taking it slowly. A lot of guys I know are only interested in one thing, but he seems to be more interested in the person that you are." Lucinda said.

"Are you referring to Tye when you say some guys are only interested in one thing?" Chloe asked Lucinda.

"Please don't answer that." Brianna said to Lucinda.

"Yeah, let's just keep looking for something a little more innocent." Lucinda suggested.

After walking a few more minutes around the store Brianna came across a violet floral embroidery spaghetti straps pleated lace baby doll which had a slit on the side, she picked it out and showed Chloe and Lucinda what she had chosen and they both seemed to like it.

"I'm taking it with the matching robe, what do you think?" Brianna said taking the matching violet lace trim short silk robe.

"It's nice." Lucinda agreed.

"Yeah, it works" Chloe said "But I think you should also take this." Chloe said showing Brianna a violet bikini set of hanky panky peek a boo that was made of lace and silk and had strings to tie when wearing the set.

"That's sexy." Lucinda liked it.

"I'll take it." Brianna couldn't resist the hanky panky set and took it with her.

The wedding week came soon after, which meant that it was time for Jason and Brianna to spend a week apart.

They said their goodbye on the Sunday night, before Monday, outside Brianna's house just after Jason came by and dropped Chloe off, who decided to take opportunity of their distance to move into Brianna's house for that week to spend her last few close days with her best friend.

During the week in which Chloe spent at Brianna's house, she, Lucinda and Paige planned a bridal shower for Brianna whenever they were alone together while Brianna was at work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday or upstairs clearing her bedroom and putting some of her things in boxes for when she and Jason would move into their fully furnished apartment.

The surprise bridal shower was set for Friday night before the big day came on Saturday morning and Brianna had already told her boss about her wedding weeks beforehand and asked him if she could take the weekend off, her boss was accepting and wished her all the best for her special day and he even gave her a bottle of his best champagne for her to take home as a gift.

On Friday afternoon Chloe went to pick up Brianna from college after she went and to pick up her brand new 2010 Chevrolet Spark and Brianna was surprised and happy for Chloe when she saw her in her small little cute car.

"Jump in." Chloe said to her.

"It's a really cute car, Chloe." Brianna said and then got in and adjusted herself in the front seat, securing her seat belt.

"Do you think the red's a nice colour?" Chloe asked her.

"It's so you." Brianna told her.

"You think so?" Chloe asked.

"Totally." Brianna said.

"So how's your day been?" Chloe said to Brianna pulling away from the college.

"Fine, I'm just looking so forward for tomorrow, can't wait to see Jason." Brianna responded smiling at the thought of him.

"That's good, but before that we need to go somewhere." Chloe said to her.

"Where to?" Brianna asked.

"I've made a booking for you and me at a day spa this afternoon."

"Really."

"We going to get a pedicure, manicure, massage, face cleansing and waxing." Chloe said to her, "A small gift from me to you." Chloe added.

"Chloe, you've already done so much for me. Seriously I don't deserve a friend like you." Brianna said to her.

"Nonsense, you'd do the same for me, you keen?" Chloe asked her.

"Keen on everything, thank you, except for waxing, I've shaved." Brianna said with an appreciative smile on her face as Chloe drove them to the spa where they spent the rest of the day being pampered and where only done at 6pm.

 **Chapter Sixteen**

"SURPRISE!" everyone screamed for Brianna after she walked into the house and switched on the lights in the sitting area.

"What's going on?" Brianna was pleasantly stunned to see many familiar faces at her house.

"It's your very one surprise bridal shower, silly." Chloe said to her.

"Oh my goodness, I had no idea." Brianna said.

"Come on, let get started." the eight month pregnant Lucinda grabbed her by her hand from the light switch and directed her to a white and purple tulle decorated chair especially decorated just for her.

Once Brianna was seated, Paige put a custom made sash around her which read 'Future Mrs Millers' and placed a plastic shiny tiara with a small veil on top of her head to complete the bride to be look.

Once Brianna got a change to greet everyone around the room, she took time to have a look around the room from where she seat and noticed the a table had been beautifully set next to her with some small sweet treats; snack and wrapped gifts brought in by everyone present that night and noticed that the balloons and the colours used for her surprise bridal shower were the same as the colours she had chosen for the wedding and she loved it.

All the female Collins were all present, as well as Mrs Watson and her daughter, Chloe's Aunt Martha flew in all the way from San Francisco for the wedding that day and was dropped off by Mike to attend the bridal shower, and some of Brianna's closest female colleagues from her previous job came to the bridal shower too, of which she had also invited to attend the wedding and in total there were fourteen women in the house excluding Brianna.

Since Chloe was the official MC for the wedding reception the next day, she laidback and relaxed that night and handed things over for Lucinda to handle the entire evening until it would come down to the last surprise she set up for Brianna.

"Okay ladies, let's get ready to start." Lucinda said. "So Bri, welcome to your bridal shower, I'll be your MC for tonight."

"Alright." Brianna said smiling.

"As you can see there's a lot of wrapped gifts for you on the table to unwrap, and I'm pretty sure you wanna to get straight down to that, which we will in a couple of minutes, but before that, we wanna play a game with you, called 'how well do you know the groom'. Just so you know, we've asked Jason to answer some questions about himself and about both of Y'all, and tonight we wanna test you on how well do you know the groom. I have the questions and answers with me, so let's get started, you ready?" Lucinda asked Brianna.

"I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Brianna anxiously excited.

"Alright, just so you know, for each wrong question you get wrong, you goin' to have to eat a whine gum, and for each question you get right, you'll get yourself a wrapped chocolate candy that you can eat at any time you want, Okay." Lucinda briefly explained the rules to Brianna.

"Okay?" Brianna agreed.

"Alisha is standing by with the gum and Chloe is going to hand you the chocolate for all the questions you get right, so here's question number one. Where did you guys go on a first date?"

"Um, we went bowling." Brianna answered.

"That's correct, Chloe please give her a chocolate" Lucinda said and Chloe handed one to Brianna.

"Second question, what is the theme of your wedding?"

"Elegant." Brianna answered.

"I'm afraid Jason said classic, Alisha please give a gum to Bri." Lucinda said and Alisha placed a gum in Brianna's hand and she began chewing it while everyone else looked on.

"Next question, what's Jason's favourite food?"

"Oh my, um, Jason eats everything." Brianna said thinking hard.

"But his written down one meal here, come on, give it to us." Lucinda said.

"Jason likes hamburgers?" Brianna took a guess.

"Correct." Lucinda said and Brianna got another chocolate.

"Next question is. How many children does he want in the near future?"

"Two?" Brianna guessed again.

"Three." Lucinda said and Brianna chewed on another gum.

"What's his favourite part of your body?" The next question came.

Brianna became a little shy with that question, but then answered "My face?"

"He said your butt." Lucinda said to her and everyone including Brianna giggled, then of course Brianna was given another gum.

"Cake or Ice cream?" Lucinda asked.

"Ice cream." Brianna answered.

"Correct." Lucinda said and Brianna got another chocolate, "What's his favourite colour?"

"Black."

"Correct."

"Where did you have your first kiss?"

"Outside at the front of the house."

"Correct."

"What is his shoe size?"

"His a size 10."

"Girl you know your man, coz that's correct, again." Lucinda said, "Last question, what's his favourite past time?"

"Playing basketball." Brianna said confidently.

"That's right." Lucinda said, "Okay you got most of the chocolates, now let's move on to the next round, opening the gifts." Lucinda said, "Now you need to guest what's inside each wrapped box or gift bag, if you get any of them wrong, you will have a choice of either losing one piece of clothing or you will have to have a shot of champagne in a small glass, since we don't want to get you too drunk tonight, okay."

"Okay." Brianna agreed.

Alisha and Kalisha got up and helped with handing over the gifts to Brianna so she could open them, there were exactly twelve gifts that were wrapped and handed over to Brianna to guess each one, some being big and others being small.

Out of the twelve gifts in which Brianna opened, she only managed to get five correct, for the wrong guesses she took off three items clothing from her body; which were both her socks and her light short cotton jersey she was wearing, and for the remaining wrong guessed, she took four shots of champagne from the small glass.

While she opened her gifts and guessed them, Chloe was given the task of written down some of the descriptive words Brianna was using and saying when she was describing the gifts for the next game they intended on playing which was called 'Wedding night'. Once the opening all the gifts was done, Chloe then got up and handed the piece of paper she was writing on to Lucinda, so she could read it to everyone.

"So Bri, while you weren't watching I asked Chloe here, to write and take down some keywords on what you used to describe and identify the gifts with, just so we could play our next game called 'Wedding night preview'. People say that sometimes these words came be used to describe some of the scenarios that might take place on your wedding night. So without further a done, here are the few words you've used tonight. Oh, this is nicely wrapped." Lucinda read the first line and everyone giggled.

"Um, then you said, this one's quite big" Lucinda read another line and Brianna blushed while everyone else continued to giggle away.

"Here's a nice one, this is quite hard, what is it?" Lucinda ended off the game when she saw Brianna covering her face in bashfulness.

"Now, for the next game we brought you something special to break open. Ladies, it's about to get dirty up in herrrr, so I'm going to have to ask that those of you who can't handle dirty to please go over to the kitchen with Mama Paige, Aunt Gail, Mrs. Watson and Aunt Martha and can help yourselves out with some tea and biscuits while the rest of us carry on, with the dirty stuff." Lucinda gave the que for Paige, Aunt Gail, Mrs. Watson and Aunt Martha to leave the sitting room so they could let the younger women to have some more space and freedom to enjoy themselves, without them.

"Alright, Chloe, please can you go and get 'The Big D'." Lucinda said theatrically to Chloe once the coast was clear and Chloe got up from where she was sitting and walked out of the room for a moment and then walked back in swaying a big, penis shaped piñata.

Brianna's face flushed red when she saw the piñata and she couldn't stop giggling timidly and kept shaking her head and covering her face at Chloe as she watched her swinging and swaying the piñata around.

"Alright, ladies! So now Bri, this is what's goin' to happen. You're goin' to have to be blind folded for this, okay. Kalisha is going hold this piñata in the air at with the end of a brood stick and you need to focus hard and try to hit the piñata, we will give you three chances to hit, if you miss, you will remain blind folded throughout the next game we have planned, which is 'pin the tail on a Bunny', which you will need to follow my voice to find the picture of the bunny and then you goin' to have to pin a tail on the bunny, it that clear?" Lucinda gave the instructions to Brianna.

"Yes." Brianna responded and Alisha walked behind her securing the blind fold, before she assisted in helping her get up from the chair and spun her around three times before she handed her a stick.

Kalisha held up the piñata as high as Lucinda instructed her to while Chloe left the room for a moment to take a call when her cell phone rang when everyone else was distracted and got excited to see if Brianna would be able to break open the penis shaped piñata.

"Bri, are you ready?" Lucinda asked her.

"Yes." Brianna confirmed.

"Okay, take your best hits" Lucinda told her as she held the piñata stick firmly in her hand and swaged it in forward to try and hit the piñata, and missed.

"That's one miss." Lucinda said to her.

Brianna tried to hit the piñata for the second time and missed again when Kalisha moved it purposely out of the way.

"Strike two, missed." Kalisha said to her.

"Where is it?" Brianna asked blind folded after she heard a few giggles in the room.

"It right in front of you." One of her previous work colleagues said to her.

"One more chance and that's it." Lucinda said and then left the room to check on Chloe.

"Okay, this is got to be it." Brianna said taking her last swing and missed it again.

Chloe rushed back into the room when she heard the game was done and Lucinda followed soon.

"Oh, you've missed all three chances Bri." Chloe said standing in front to Brianna, patting on both her shoulders, then she took the piñata stick away from her hands and directed Brianna backwards to her chair for further instructions.

"Here, now sit back, relax and wait for Lucinda to tell where you need to pin this" Chloe said placing a fluffy bunny tail in her hand.

"Okay." Brianna smiled back, still blind folded on the chair.

Chloe then turned to the rest of the ladies in the room and asked them to keep absolutely quite by putting a finger to her lips, once everyone agreed to be quite, Lucinda walked into the room with a young, tall and well-built African American male who wore a grey and white detachable rabbit jumpsuit with bunny ears carrying a carrot in his mouth, when the ladies in the room saw him, they started giggling again in anticipation of what was about to head Brianna's way, without her knowing anything.

"What's going on?" Brianna asked.

"Chloe's just drawing a funny bunny picture, that's all." Kalisha said to not give away anything and Chloe gave her a silent thumbs up, while Lucinda showed the young man where to stand.

"Okay Bri, you can get up and start walking towards my voice." Lucinda said and Brianna got up from her chair.

"Where are you?" Brianna said.

"Keep walking forward, a little more, a little more, a little more." Lucinda instructed Brianna.

"Now, stop there." Lucinda said when she felt Brianna was close enough, "bend your knees down to the floor and extend your hands in front of you and pin the tail to the bunny." Lucinda said to her and Brianna did as she was told.

"What?" Brianna said when she felt the top of the young male's butt, "Who am I pinning this too?" Brianna asked.

"Pin and you'll know once the blind fold is off." Chloe said standing by the sound system getting ready to press play.

"Okay." Brianna held out the fabric and pinned the tail.

"You can take off your blind fold." Lucinda said, and Brianna removed it, once her eyes adjusted to the light, her mouth dropped open in disbelief when she looked up and saw the young male stripper who had turned and faced her then helped her up from the floor, next he signalled to Chloe to press play on stereo, which she gladly did so, then he began to seductively moved and twist his body while Brianna stood motionlessly shy in front of him while the other watched.

After a few moves, the young male swept Brianna of her feet by lifting her up and placing her back on the chair, and then he stepped back slowly and making her watch him, as he gradually began to detach a piece of the fabrics from his body , revealing his tight physique, while he stripped down from the rabbit jumpsuit.

The ladies in the room began to scream over him as he continued to please them with his seductive moves that followed in the same motion of the song that was playing, once he stripped down to his jockeys, Brianna began too shy to look and covered her eyes, and when he noticed, he walked towards her and removed her hands from her face, placing them gently over his abs, making them run up and down his upper body as he bounced on her lap and continued to dance while everyone else watched on and continued to enjoy Brianna's last entertainment for the night.

 _...Back at the Millers Apartment_...

Jason, Tye and Mike where taking the night fairly easy by having some beers and Pizza while watching some TV, not having the slightest idea of what sort of events were unfolding at the house.

Jason had refused and discussed with Tye and Mike for weeks about not wanting to have a bachelor party the night before his big day, since he planned on going to bed a little early that night, mainly because he wanted to be in his best appearance for when Brianna saw him at the altar.

The night seemed to be going well until Jason kept hearing Tye's cell phone beeping non-stop with incoming text messages.

"Who's that?" Jason asked him after several texts.

"It's Lu." Tye said to him.

"Isn't she supposed to be enjoying the bridal shower?" Jason asked taking a sip of his beer.

"She's just checking on me." Tye said.

"Why, didn't you tell her you were here?" Jason asked.

"I did, but I guess she's maybe just missing me or something." Tye responded to Jason.

"Is she texting to tell you what's going on at the house tonight?" Jason asked, curious to find out.

"No." Tye responded, "Bet you wanna know, huh?" Tye said to him.

"A little." Jason admitted.

"All women do at their bridal showers is open presents and talk nonsenses to each other." Mike said.

"How do you know , Mike, I mean, there could be some male strippers in the mix." Tye said and Jason felt slightly uneasy.

"Male strippers, not with your mother, his aunt and a couple of older church ladies I saw there tonight." Mike said.

"Yeah, you right" Tye said and Jason relaxed. Tye's cell phone beeped once more and he looked at it smiling then he gave a thumb up hand signal to Mike, when Jason wasn't looking, so he could try and remove Jason from the sitting area.

"This place is looking a little scrappy, let me take some of these bottles and pizza boxes to the kitchen." Mike said, "Jason, can you give me a hand there bud." Mike asked for his help.

"Sure, it's almost bedtime for me anyway." Jason stood up and took some of the empty beer bottles with him into the kitchen to throw away in the trash and while he was in the kitchen with Mike, he heard a knock on the door, Tye called out to them straightaway to let them know that he'd get it.

"Brianna. What you doing here?" Tye said so Jason could hear him, and when Jason did, he became slightly panicky and walked out of the kitchen in a fast pace to see what had brought Brianna to his apartment at that time of the night, just a few hours just before their wedding day.

"Bri..." Jason headed straight to the door then paused and said "Oh, man!" with a relieved smile on his face when he realised that he had been led into a set-up by Tye, Mike and the rest of his groomsman who appeared behind the door and were beaming at him.

"Yo Jason. My man! Did you really think, we were goin 'to let your last night as a single man go past without showing you a great time?" Bowie put his arms around Jason's shoulder.

"I thought peace and quiet is what we agreed on." Jason said looking up at Tye.

"Don't look at me, I didn't plan any of this." Tye said, "They just asked me and Mike where you were."

"That's right, now let's get this party started." Romell said moving on to put some music while some more beer was brought in.

"Come on Jason, loosen up." Tye said to him when he noticed he was a up tight and apprehensive about his plans on having a quite night.

"The fellas just want to have some fun with you." Tye handed a beer to Jason and soon he relaxed and toasted.

After a couple of beers Jason decided to stop drinking and took a sit on the couch to watched as some of the guys lit up a joint and began smoking it, passing it around the room, he refused to take a puff and Mike took it instead, to his surprise.

Moments after the joint was lit there was a knock on the door of the apartment and the joint was quickly taken care off, Mike being the oldest, decided to get up and open the door. When he did, he saw two policemen dressed in their Chicago PD uniforms on either side of the door, one being a lighted skinned African American voluptuous police woman and the other a tall and dark skinny African American man.

"Good evening officers. How can I help you this evening?" Mike asked them.

"We've received a complaint from one of the units above you saying that there's a strange smell of weed, coming from this apartment." The male policeman said to Mike.

"How do you know for sure it's coming from this apartment, I mean, we're on West Garfield Park, any of these units could be smoking weed?" Mike said.

"Can you let us step in for a minute?" The policeman asked him.

"Uh, sure." Mike said nervously and the two walk in promptly, Romell stopped the music just as soon as he saw them come in.

"That's definitely weed I smell?" the police woman said taking a whiff.

"So, what's going on here fellas?" the police man asked everyone and the room went silent for a moment until Jason stood up from the couch and responded.

"We just having a bachelor party, Officer."

"And who's getting married?" The police man asked looking around the room.

"That would be me." Jason responded.

"You looking a little hazed young man, are you high?"

"No Sir, I haven't had any-" Jason answered back nervously.

"Weed!" He finished the sentence and Jason swallowed hard.

"Okay, here's what I'm going to do, you can go over there and stand facing that walk while I search you first, and if I find some weed in here tonight, you all going to come down to the station with me." said policeman to Jason and everyone else present. At that moment, Jason, he began to feel nervous about the unforeseen situation.

"Turn, face the wall and spread your legs open." The policeman ordered him and Jason obeyed at ones, then policeman began to search him from the bottom of his long casual pants, all the way to the top, very slowly.

"Okay son, you clean, now turn around, sit on that chair and enjoy the special gift your friends bought for you tonight." The policeman said with a smile and Jason's seemed slightly confused at first until he turned around and saw that the police woman wasn't actually a police woman but a voluptuous stripper with an amazing body.

Romell pressed play and the women walked towards Jason gesturing for him to take a seat on the provided chair.

"Oh, shit!" Jason said with a look of relief in his face when he realized that he had been set-up once that night.

 _...Wedding Bells..._

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Chloe said staring at Brianna while the two were lying in bed next to each other on the morning of the wedding.

"Morning." Brianna smiled at her.

"How are you feeling?" Chloe asked her.

"Happy, anxious, nervous, energetic, but mostly...I can't wait to see Jason." Brianna said.

"I'm sure he can't wait to see you too." Chloe said, "Come on, let's wake up, your mom's made breakfast downstairs." she then helped Brianna get up, and the two went downstairs to have something to eat, which was some pancakes with bacon and eggs, just the way Brianna wanted it to be that morning.

After Breakfast the remaining bridal party arrived at the house to get dressed with the bride and then the flower bouquet arrangements came a few minutes later.

Chloe and Candy, her friend from the salon, took care of the hair and makeup of everyone making sure that all the bridesmaids had their hairs put up in a ponytail with a side fringe and a decorative silver beaded accessory, while Paige put her hair up in an elegant bun with natural make-up.

Brianna asked that Chloe gave her a simple but romantic side flowing curls with an added oriental crystal comb she planned to us with her veil instead of the traditional tiara.

The photography and filming company were at the house while the woman were getting ready, and once Alisha and Kalisha were fully arrayed, they both went downstairs to record a special message for their cousin on her special day.

Paige and Aunt Gail helped Brianna get into her dress while Chloe watched and held the veil in her hand to put onto Brianna's head.

Once the veil was safely secured, Chloe then moved on to helping Brianna put on her flats, which were white handmade rhinestone crystals flats with lace all around it.

"I can't believe I'm helping you put these on." Chloe said not favouring the choice of shoes her best friend's choose to wear on her wedding day.

"If I'm going to last a full day, I need to wear flats. No one's going to notice." Brianna said to her.

"Yeah, until Jason lifts you up for the photos." Chloe said back to her.

"It will form part of wonderful memories." Brianna said smiling.

"Now, let have a look at you." Paige said when Brianna got up from the bed and Chloe stepped back. "You look so beautiful, I don't think you're bother is going to want to give you away looking as you do right now." Paige caressing one side of the daughters face.

"He better give her away, or else I'll eat him alive." Chloe said making Paige and Brianna giggled.

"Speaking about Tye, where is he mama?" Brianna asked.

"His probably on his way." Paige said.

"Bri, before I forget, did you pack a bag for tonight and tomorrow morning?" Chloe asked her.

"Yeah, yesterday morning." Brianna said.

"Where is it? Coz I want to put in my car so I don't forget to take it to the hotel." Chloe asked her.

"It's in my room, on my bed." Brianna said to her while in Paige's bedroom.

"Okay, I'll go get it." Chloe said and left Brianna and Paige in the bedroom.

Chloe walked into Brianna's bedroom, where there were a few packed boxes and suitcases around that she packed for the big move on Monday, and found the bag Brianna had packed on top of her bed.

Chloe felt a little curious to see what Brianna had packed for her wedding night, so she unzipped the bag and had a look inside and as she expected, Brianna had only packed the violet floral embroidery spaghetti straps pleated lace baby doll with the matching robe, Chloe dung deeper into the bag and looked for the pair of sexy underwear that she told Brianna to get, but couldn't find them, she then looked around the bedroom and came up with a naughty idea when she dug into one of Brianna's packed suitcases to find the sexy set of violet hanky panky peek a boo lace and silk bikini with side ties.

Chloe went through two suitcases swiftly until the she found what she was looking for, then she took matters into her own hands and replaced the baby doll with the sexy lingerie bikini set by placing it under the silky robe, just so Brianna could get an unforeseen surprise.

Once she was done packing the rest of the clothes in the casual canvas travel bag, she zipped it up and closed the other suitcases then left the bedroom with a big smile on her face that Brianna soon noticed when the two met up outside the corridor upstairs.

"Why are you smiling so brightly?" Brianna asked curiously.

"I'm just so happy and excited for you." Chloe responded straightway.

"TYE'S HERE!" Kalisha screamed from the bottom of the steps.

"Time to go." Chloe excused herself before Brianna could ask or say something else, then proceeded to go downstairs so she could collect a bag from Tye that she had asked Jason to pack too.

"Looking good in a suit Tye." Chloe complimented him when she saw the three piece grey tuxedo he was wearing with two buttons and with a purple satin vest and tie also paired with a white smart collar shirt.

"Thanks, I believe you asked for this." Tye said handing a navy blue small travel bag to Chloe.

"Thank you." Chloe took the bag and then proceeded to put both travels bags in the boot of her car.

A few minutes later, a white Chrysler limousine appeared outside the house to pick up the bride and her bridal party, which included the bridesmaids, Paige and Aunt Gail but excluding Chloe who wanted to take her car around that day so she could be ahead of everyone else and make sure that everything was going as planned.

Tye wanted to share a few words with his sister before the events took place, after everyone left the house.

"Wow Bri, you look amazing." Tye said when he was with her alone, feeling shyly overwhelmed.

"Thank you. How's Jason." Brianna asked him.

"His nervous and excited at the same time." Tye said to her, "I'm really goin' to miss you." he said to her.

"I won't be far, though. Plus, I'm probably still going to be coming around here a lot, especially when my little nephew comes along." Brianna smiled at him.

"Yeah." Tye sighed, "Jason's goin' to make you really happy and I can see that just by looking at you today." Tye held back some tears,"I'm so proud of both of you."

"Tye, you want to make me cry." Brianna said wiping a slight build-up of tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Please don't, I don't wanna ruin your look." Tye pulled himself together, "Come on, let's go." Tye extended an arm to his sister and they walked of the house arm in arm to the limo.

"Why are they taking so long?" Jason said feeling anxious due to the one hour delay while he sat in Pastor Marcus's office with Mike and Aunt Martha who arrived late at the apartment the night after the bridal shower was done, to find the apartment in a mess, which she then cleaned up.

"Chloe's phoned me and said they on their way." Mike told him.

"Relax Jason, brides always run late. Your father waited for your mother for two hours with guests included." Aunt Martha said.

"Two hours!" Jason said, "What was she doing?" Jason asked.

"Something kept going wrong with the hairstyle she planned for that day with the hairstylist she contacted, lucky I was there and had to do the hairstyle for her after he failed miserably three times." Aunt Martha said.

"Whoa, two hours late for a hairstyle, that's insane." Jason said startled by the idea.

"Yep." Mike said.

"The bridal party is here, the pastor's ready to start." Pastor Marcus's wife, Wendy, came into the room to notify them.

"Thank you." Jason said with a sigh of relief, anxious to get things underway.

The wedding procedures began a few minutes later when the Jason first entered the beautifully decorated church with Mike and Aunt Martha on either side of him, followed by his groomsman. They all walked on the laid out purple carpet which had white roses petals along the path until they all reached the alter, the groomsmen aligned themselves in their positions on the grooms side leaving space in the front for Tye, who hand been chosen to be Jason's best men.

Moments later the first bridesmaid appeared carrying a bouquet in her hand, in the order of Lucinda, Alisha, Kalisha and lastly the maid of honour Chloe who winked and smiled at her family as she went past them and stood on the stand while some light music placed.

"Please can we all stand for the bride's entrance." Pastor Marcus announced to all the seated guests, and everyone stood up.

Jason composed himself and focused his eyes directly on the main church doors in eagerness of seeing Brianna and when the main doors opened, Brianna stood in the middle of Tye and Paige with her face covered in a full length lace veil while she held her purple and white roses bouquet in her hand, she looked straight up and kept eyes focused with a smile on Jason, who stood at the altar wearing a lighter grey tuxedo and who too kept staring straight ahead at her.

When the signal was given by Pastor Marcus, the two main vocalists at the church, one being a female and the other being a male, got their tempos ready with the backing choirs band and began to sing the RnB version of the song 'Two hearts, One Love' by Zona Jones.

"You ready?" Tye asked Brianna and she nodded slightly to let him know she was

Brianna, Paige and Tye took slow steps towards the altar while the song played and while Brianna and Jason still kept their eyes focus on each other throughout the entire time and before they knew it, the song ended and they were standing facing each other.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" Pastor Marcus asked both Paige and Tye.

"We do." They both respond at the same time.

"Then please hand her over to this young man by placing her right hand on his right hand." Pastor Marcus said and then Paige and Tye both held Brianna's right hand and placed it on Jason's right hand.

"Be happy." Paige said to both and moved to sit down in the front row with Mike and Aunt Martha.

"Take care of her." Tye said to Jason and then moved on to take his place on the stand with the other groomsman.

"You can both step forward now." Pastor Marcus said to both Jason and Brianna and they obeyed him by taking a few steps forward onto the stand to face him.

"You look beautiful." Jason whispered to Brianna and she blushed when Pastor Marcus gave them both a watchful look under his glasses as if to say that, they should keep their complements to themselves till he was done.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God, friends and family; to join Jason Nevin Millers and Brianna Violet Rose Johnson in holy matrimony commanded to be honourable among all. During their time together, they have seen their love and understanding for each grow and blossom, and that's why they are here today, because they have both agreed and decided to live out the rest of their lives as one in the present of God almighty, theirs family and friends. Amen." Pastor Marcus and everyone in the church responded. "Amen!"

"So, if anyone present here today can provide a reason as to why Jason and Brianna may not be joined, please speak now or forever hold you peace." Pastor Marcus addressed to everyone and then gave a moment of silent for anyone who wanted to come forward, after a minute of complete silence he continued with the ceremonial proceedings by delivering a powerful message to both Jason and Brianna from one of the bible's scriptures, after that, the moment of the vows came. During their couple's counselling classes, Pastor Marcus had asked both Jason and Brianna to select and memorize their vows before their wedding day, they each choose their own vows and shared them with Pastor Marcus and now, they had to stand facing each other while they shared their vows and exchanged rings, which were safely kept by Tye and handed over.

Brianna was first up to the say the vows to Jason, which were as follows;

"I Brianna Violet Rose Johnson, take you Jason Nevin Millers, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, appreciate and cherish; from this day forward until, death do us part" Brianna said looking into Jason's eye while she placed a half white gold and half yellow gold men's wedding band on his left hand, ring finger.

"Your turn Jason" Pastor Marcus said to him.

"I-I can't remember the words" Jason said trying to pull everyone's leg, "I'm just kidding" he smiled when he saw Brianna's face looked a little jolted under the veil, his practical joke made everyone laugh a little and took pressure of him as he took in a couple of light deep breath and waited for the room to quieten down before he began by saying;

"I Jason Nevin Millers, take you, Brianna Violet Rose Johnson, to be my wife, my friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of our family and friends, I offer you my sincere vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honour and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live, Amen." Jason said looking at Brianna while he placed an infinity white gold wedding band on her left hand, ring finger.

"Amen. Well said you two." Pastor Marcus congratulated them, "Now we are going to move on to the lighting of the unity candle which symbolises the joining and the bringing together of both Jason and Brianna's families." Pastor Marcus said to everyone and Chloe came forward and provided both Jason and Brianna with a candle, which she then lit and the both of them proceeded in lighting together their unity candle.

After the candle was lit, Pastor Marcus moved on to the closing of the ceremony by praying over Jason and Brianna and finished the ceremony with the declaration of marriage by saying;

"And so. By the power vested in me by God and the State of Illinois. I now pronounce you husband and wife. Jason, you may now kiss your lovely bride."

Jason licked his lips in anticipation while he gently pulled back the veil from Brianna's face; then he moved closer to her, gently caressed her face and sealed their marriage with a long, tender and sweet kiss while everyone cheered.

After the ceremony Jason and Brianna were congratulated by all their friends and family at the altar before they exited the church with a send-off of purple rose's petals.

"I can't believe we married." Brianna said to Jason when they were alone in one of the white limousines on their way to the reception venue.

"It feels so surreal that I can finally have you all to myself." Jason turned to her and kissed her once more while they seat at the back of the limousine, "I missed you so much this week." he stared into her eyes while caressing her face.

"The wait is over, and now you going to have to live with this face for the rest of your life." Brianna smiled at him contently.

"It's all I've ever wanted." Jason fixed his eyes on her face and then her mouth and moved in for a longer kiss.

When they arrived at the venue, they were directed into a selected area at the hotel where they meet up with the rest of the bride and groom party and some friends to take some wedding photos, after an hour and a half of taking pictures, Chloe pulled the couple aside and found them a corner away from everyone else so they could have a few minutes just for themselves and enjoy a non-alcoholic cocktail before their big entrance.

"So, just to keep you both updated, I've gone upstairs to your honeymoon suite and everything seems to be in place. I've also placed both your bags in the closets and here's the key." Chloe gave the room keys to Jason and he put it in his pocket.

"Thanks, Chloe." Jason said feeling a little awkward about the fact that his sister had already been inside the same room he and Brianna were going to spend their first night together as a married couple.

"That's really nice of you Chloe, thanks." Brianna thanked her politely.

"Oh and Bri, before I forget, I got you something, stay right here and I'll be right back okay." Chloe said to her and left.

"Okay." Brianna said.

"I wonder what she has for you now." Jason shared his thought with Brianna.

"I've already been given a lot of things from her, I can't imagine what more she has to give me." Brianna said.

A few minutes later Chloe reappeared with a bright smile on her face while hiding something behind her back, which made Brianna and Jason curious to see.

"What you got there, sis?" Jason asked her.

"It's something small for my best friend here." Chloe said.

"Show it to me." Brianna got excited.

"Okay, I hope you like it." Chloe sounded a little cautious before revealing her small thoughtful gift to Brianna, which was a purple crystal bow sash to put around her waist to make the dress more reception like.

"Chloe, I love it!" Brianna said when she saw it.

"Really." Chloe felt pleased.

"I wouldn't have thought of that." Brianna said to her.

"Let put in on," Chloe fastened the sash around Brianna's waist while Jason looked on.

"There." Chloe said once she was done, "Okay, now I need to go in there and start the party." Chloe said to both Brianna and Jason.

"Chloe, before you go, can you help with the veil?" Brianna asked her asked.

"Most certainly" Chloe took the veil off Brianna's head, folded it, and took it inside the ball room with her.

Once all the guests were seated Chloe took her position as the MC and asked everyone to stand up and welcome the newlyweds.

"Ladies and gentleman please, give a warm welcome to the newly married couple, whom I love both so much, Mr and Mrs Jason Millers." Chloe said pointing to the main door as it opened and gave way to Brianna and Jason to walk into the main reception ballroom which was stunningly and elegantly decorated with tall centrepiece crystal vases which had white stephanotis, white peonies, white orchids flowers and purple roses arranged in them, each displayed on individual tables which had small white glass lit candles beneath them.

The chairs in the room were all silver chiavari chairs that had white comfy cushions on them, the table clothes were white and cutlery layout placed throughout the round tables were; purple for the napkins, silver for the eating cutlery and white for the dishing plates, and the rest of the bail room was lit up in white and purple.

Jason and Brianna were given a warm welcome as they walked passed all their invited guests and went straight to sit at their bride and groom table, where they could oversee the dance floor and everyone else in the room.

"Wow, you guys look amazing." Chloe said looking at the two of them once had reached their table and settled down, "Okay, so for those of us who have the wedding program at hand, we know what's about to happen. Please can I have Pastor Marcus to come forward and provide us with his blessing, once his done, we going to be served dinner. Pastor Marcus, the floor is all yours." Chloe handed the microphone over to him and he prayed. Once he was done, the DJ then began to play some smoothing music while the waiters came out and served tables with beautifully displayed starters of smoked mackerel and apple fishcakes, after the starters were consumed, they then served the main course of slow roasted tenderloin steak, with mash potatoes and seasonal vegetable stir-fry.

After the mains were out of the way, Chloe got up and went back to the microphone to announce that it was time for, toasts and the speeches, and first up was Paige.

"Good evening everyone." Paige greeted everyone they guests replied, "I just want to thank you all for coming out to my little girl's special day, and yes, that's what she'll always be to me, my special little girl, and doesn't she look amazing today?. I just want the both of you to know that I'm very happy and proud to be standing here today, seeing you both together at that table make me so happy and really fills my heart with joy. I've known Jason since he was seventeen years old, which wasn't so far back, and ever since his walked into our lives, he has been a blessing, not only in Brianna's life and mine but in Tye's too. I've always said that Jason was a good boy and he hasn't proved me wrong till now, and deep down in my heart I know that he'll continued making Brianna very happy. So, here's a toast to the most wonderful couple tonight, cheers to Jason and Brianna." Paige filled her glass up to the couple and then went back to sit down at her table.

"Wow." Chloe said after the first toast, "Next up we have dessert." Chloe said in a humours way and everyone laughed at her light joke, "Okay I'm serious now. Dad, please can you come up and say something to your son and his wonderful wife." Chloe said and Mike who was sitting next to Kathy, got up to join her.

"Evening everyone." Mike greeted and got a response from the guests, "Well, were should I start with those two? Okay, I'm just going to start off by saying that, I think I was the only one who was quite surprised when Jason and Brianna started dating, because I seriously didn't see it coming from the way the two of them never pretty much said anything to each other, especially since Chloe was always locked in her bedroom with Brianna most of the time when she'd come to visit and Jason was always hanged out with Tye, but, I must say that ever since the two got together I've seen Jason become a better man, who is truly in love with Brianna and would do anything to make her happy. Now Jason, I know I haven't been the best father in the world but I sincerely hope and wish you both all the best from this day forward. Here's to you and your lovely bride, Brianna. Cheers to them everyone." Mike raised his glass in the air and toasted before back his seat next to Kathy.

"Thanks for the kind words, dad. Now it's my turn to toast, I've already said a lot to Jason and Brianna over the last couple of days, so I'm going to keep my speech and toast, short and sweet. Here goes. So, for those of you, who don't know, I'm Chloe and I'm Brianna's best friend, slash maid of honour and well, Jason's sister. Brianna and I have known each other forever and now that she's married Jason, she's basically married me too, except for the part that we'll be living together." Chloe pulled a sad face and the guests found it quite humours, "On a serious note through, please raise a glass to the two most special individuals to me. I Love you both so much and I want you both to always know that I'm always going to be around if you need me for anything, Cheers to you." Chloe said, slightly overwhelmed while folding her glass up for a toast.

"Thank you." Brianna mouthed to Chloe from where she sat.

"Okay everyone, know it's the best men's turn." Chloe announced and gave way to Tye who seemed a little nervous to step behind the microphone.

"Oh man." Tye composed himself before he started again; "Good evening everybody." he greeted and got a response from the guests. "A lot has already been said tonight, most of which is true from my point of view. I um—Jason and I, like my mama said have known each other for quite a long time now. When Jason and Brianna first started dating, I must confess that I was initially against both of them getting together because, I considered Jason more like a bother to me than anything. I always used to talk him about the aspirations I had for my sister, on how I wanted her to stay away from guys and all, not knowing that during the whole time I told him those things, he actually had feelings for her. Jason and I almost broke off our friendship because of my pride and my sister, but at the end it was because of her that we reconnected. Jason and Brianna, before I go, I just want you two to know that you both hold a special place in my heart, I wish you both all the happiness in the world, so here's to you both." Tye lifted his glass towards the couple's table and everyone toasted.

"The time has come for the groom to say a few words, so ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my brother Jason." Chloe said after Jason got up from his sit and made his way to her, once he reached Chloe, he gave his sister a sweet kiss on the cheek and then received the microphone from her then faced Brianna and the guests.

"First of all I just want to say, good evening to my beautiful and blushing bride, and also to everyone present here tonight." Jason was greeted warmly.

"I just also want to thank everyone who came up here and said wonderful words about me and 'my wife' tonight and thank you for keeping it sweet. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my sister Chloe from the bottom of my heart, for her support, devotion and dedication in helping with the planning of the entire wedding, you made my life and Brianna's life so stress free throughout the entire process, we will be forever grateful for what you've done. To my dad, I just want you to know that you're the best dad I could have ever asked for and whatever has happened in the past will stay in the past because you have given me more today than I could've asked for, including your presences and support here today." Jason paused and took in a deep breath, feeling a little overwhelmed when he saw his father wipe of a tear from his eyes from where he was sitting.

"To , I just want to say, thank you. Thank you for welcoming me and my family into your home since day one, and thank you for allowing me to marry you're little girl, who means a lot to me too, you have always been sweet with me and I thank you for that. To Tye, my brother, my best friend and my best men tonight, I just want you to know that I will look after your sister to the best of my abilities and make sure that she doesn't ever come home to you crying for being mad at me!" Jason added a bit of humour and everyone laughed, "They always say, save the best for last, but Brianna will never come last to me. Bri, I know that I've said to you a couple of times through the day, that you look beautiful tonight, but I don't think everyone has heard me say it out loud, so I'm going to say it again just so everyone can hear me." Jason paused for a while and walked to the table where Brianna was sitting, he then extended an inviting hand to her so she could join him in front of the table and she accepted the invitation, by placing her hand in his and then walked around the table to meet with him, the two stood facing each other, just as they did when they said their vows and kept their eyes focused on each other, while everyone else looked on.

"Brianna Violet Rose Millers, I want you to know that, I love you very much and that you look beautiful tonight. There's a lot of things I want to say tonight, but can't seem to put it the correct words, but I hope you can have some sort of idea as to what you mean to me by the song that I've chosen for you as our first dance." Jason switched the microphone off and placed it on the table beside her, then he gently held one of Brianna's hand and showed her to the way to dance floor.

Once the two reached the centre of the dance floor, the song 'Always and Forever' by Luther Vandross began to play and then the two began to slowly dance, still staring mesmerizingly at each other with a smile from start to finish, while some of the guests watched and sang along.

After the first dance was done, the newlyweds moved on to the cutting the round shaped wedding cake, made up of four tires of white embroidered fondant and had eatable purple cascading roses descending from top to bottom.

Following the cutting and feeding a piece of the cake to each other, it was time to dance and the DJ didn't disappoint when it came to playing the best music throughout the night.

Jason and Brianna were all over each other at first but then separated and went on to dance with other people too, the dance floor soon become heated and everyone was enjoying themselves, even Pastor Marcus and his wife, Wendy, were having a good time.

"Sorry to interrupt, everyone!" Chloe apologized over the microphone after the music was suddenly cut off and everyone turned to look at the DJ's table. "It's time for the bouquet throw and the garter toss." Chloe addressed to everyone, "Please can all the single man stay behind on the dance floor, we going to do the garter toss first." Chloe said excited, "Man, please, if you know your single, please come on over to the dance floor!, don't be shy." Chloe tried to encourage more man forward when she saw the floor clearing too quickly.

Jason pulled a chair for Brianna to sit on, in the middle of the dance floor and they exchanged some timid and apprehensive looks at each other, before she sat down, feeling a little uneasy in showing of a slightly naughty side of her.

"I'll be quick." Jason said to her when he picked up on her body language, then he stepped aside and stood next to her, waiting for his sister's signal to start.

"Okay, I think we ready, but I think there's someone missing. Tye, where are you?" Chloe looked around the room for him and then turned to look at Lucinda, who shrugged her shoulders in response to not knowing where Tye had disappeared to.

"Alright, now Jason, there's a garter wrapped around one of Brianna's legs and you have to find it, in order to toss to one of these eligible bachelors, who are hoping to someday get married too! So, without further a due, please can you go under that beautiful dress and bring out that garter." Chloe said to Jason wasted no time in finding the garter, when he kneeled in front of Brianna and placed her feet on his lower abdomen, then he moved his hands under her dress to try and find the garter while she stared attentively at him.

Jason felt her right leg and then smiled when he found the white lace garter first time around, he placed Brianna's feet gently back on the floor before standing up to show everyone that he had found the garter and everyone cheered.

"Wow, Jason, you certainly don't play around!" Chloe said to him and some of the women in the room howled, "Okay, now please turn your back towards the gentleman and toss the garter, in three, two, one." Chloe counted down with the guests in the room and Jason tossed the garter into the air after the countdown was done.

The garter didn't fly very high and was caught by Bowie, who was then congratulated by him.

"Now, it's the ladies turn, so please can we have all the single ladies coming forward." Chloe said and the women filled out the space on the dance floor faster than the man. "Ok, does the bride have her bouquet ready?" Chloe asked and Brianna confirmed, "Okay, let's-" Tye suddenly tapped her shoulders after he appeared out of nowhere and asked her to hand him the microphone, which she did.

"Chloe! I believe you single too." Tye said to her over the microphone and Chloe gave him a defeated look when she knew that he'd only disappeared earlier on, purely because he knew she was going to look for him in an attempt of putting him in the spotlight in front of everyone.

"Please got and join there rest of the ladies and I'll take over the countdown from here." Tye said and waited till Chloe joined the group of women on the dance floor "Okay. You ready Bri?" Tye turned and asked her, and she responded with a thumbs up, "Okay, on three, everyone please count with me, one, two, three."

On three, Brianna threw her bouquet into the air and it travelled through the air, as it came down all the ladies tried to catch it but in the end, it was Kalisha who caught it.

Brianna walked to her cousin and congratulated her with hug while Chloe walked back to the microphone and took charge once more.

"Okay, now can we have some sexy music to allow our eligible bachelor to place the garter onto the lucky bouquet catcher, Kalisha." Chloe said sound all sensual and everyone watched as Bowie placed the garter on Kalisha's leg, with some being able to tell that the two were both enjoying the moment of seductive flirting until Aunt Gail stepped in and ended the show, following the request of .

"Alright everyone, the time has come for the last dance before we say goodbye to the bride and groom. Please can we clear the floor once more and give them a warm round of applause after the song is over. Oh, please also know that, once they've exited the party will continue, coz I'm pretty sure we all still not ready to go home yet, are we?" Chloe asked everybody.

"NO!" they responded.

"That's what I thought!" Chloe said, "Please welcome for the last time on the floor tonight, Mr and Mrs Millers." Chloe said and the DJ put on a song chosen by Brianna, sang by Norah Jonas titled 'Come Away with me'.

Jason and Brianna positioned themselves on the dance floor and danced slowly, closely embracing each other during throughout the entire song until it ended.

After the song, they waved goodbye to everyone and causually walked out of the main reception ballroom, holding hands.

 **Chapter Seventeen**

Jason closed the door behind him, after he and Brianna were alone inside their romantically decorated honeymoon suite, situated on the fourteenth floor of the hotel building which provided them with amazing views of the city.

The suite they were provided with, was modernly furnished, starting from the king size base bed which stood with a fabric upholstered headboard and two side tables on either side of the bed.

The bed itself was dressed with freshly pressed white linen bedding and had scattered purple and white rose petals on top it.

The purple and white roses ran throughout the suite, starting from the door, and continued right through to the small sitting area that had an L-shaped couch, a small glass coffee table which had a champagne bottle inside an ice bucket and two champagne glasses.

The L-shaped couch rested facing the plasma TV on a long wooden cabinet, which had some small hotel snacks, a tea tray to make some tea or coffee, a kettle and the TV remote.

The closet was not far from the fresh tiled floor full bathroom which came with a glass door frame shower.

"Nice room." Jason said to Brianna.

"It is." Brianna agreed with him after they had a look around.

"I don't know about you, but before we go to bed, I need to take a shower, care to join me?" Jason offered.

"You go ahead, I'll shower after you." Brianna said to him and his facial expression became questionable.

"Are you nervous about taking a shower with me?" Jason asked her hesitantly taking a few steps closer to her, just so he could look into her eyes.

"No." Brianna assured him, "I just need to do some girl staff, in there, you know, without you there." she told him sweetly.

"Oh, okay, then I won't be long." Jason gave her a sweet smooch then moved to the closet and took his bag with a hanger, so he could hand his suit after he showered, then he went straight in the bathroom and shut the door behind him while Brianna stayed in the sitting area.

Once Brianna heard the shower came on, she went to the closet and reached for her bag, then she moved back and placed it on the bed so she could go through it to find her planned night wear for that the night.

When she unzipped her bag, she could see that something seemed different from the way the bag was packed, because she didn't remember packing her silk robe at the top, but then she convinced herself that maybe she might've.

Brianna took out the robe first and placed it aside on the bed, then she went back to dig into the bag to get the violet baby doll she planned on wearing, but found nothing, and instead of finding it, she found the violet hanky panky peek a boo lace and silk, bikini set with the top and bottom side ties that Chloe showed her to buy a few days ago.

She held the bikini set in her hand and shook her head in a laughable and stunned manner when she realized that Chloe had something to do with the change, Brianna told herself that she would deal with Chloe afterwards and decided that she had no choice but to wear the bikini set and when she heard Jason coming out, she quickly hid the items from him by putting them back in the bag while she pretended to be folding the other casual clothes that she planned on wearing the next morning.

"That shower is amazing." Jason said walking out into the room drying his hair with a towel while wearing nothing but a white long silk pyjama pants which hang on his waist flawlessly and exhibited his well-toned upper body that had slight traces of acuminate hair, which made him look sexually favourable in Brianna's eyes, that immediately kept their focus on him, as he placed his suit in the closet with the rest of his things.

"What is it?" Jason asked Brianna once he caught her eyes on him.

"I like your pants." Brianna said softly to him.

"Was a gift from Chloe, she said you'd like it." Jason confessed.

"I do, it really, looks sexy on you." Brianna said back to him, letting him know that she agreed with Chloe's choice.

"Not as sexy as that dress you wearing tonight." Jason gazed at her and took steps to sit beside her on the bed.

"Can you help me get it off so I can go and take shower too." Brianna asked him gently.

"Sure." Jason responded in the same tone then watched as Brianna got up and to stand in front of him with her back turned.

Jason got up from the bed and reached for the top buttons of her dress and slowly unbuttoned each one, making sure that Brianna felt his fingers gently brush against her skin as he continued going down, past the open back keyhole until he reached for the bottom half, where he then started to unzip taking his time. Brianna heard the change in Jason's breathing from being normal to suddenly beginning to feel sexualy aroused in just a matter of seconds as he stood behind her and began to untie the sash from her waist so he could continue to help her get of the dress.

"Thank you, Jason." Brianna thanked him politely when felt that he had reached the end of the zip before she walked ahead, retrieved her bag and went into the bathroom, leaving Jason behind feeling stirred up.

After removing and hanging her dress up, Brianna then progressed to taking out the hair accessories from her hair then tied her entire hair up in a bun, just so it wouldn't get wet while she showered.

She then wiped off all the make-up from her face before she finally stepping into the glass framed shower with welcoming streams of warm water that poured pleasantly on her skin, making her feel tranquil in that space in time.

Jason decided to lounge on the couch for a bit while Brianna was busy in the bathroom, but after just a couple of minutes he began to slowly doze off when he began feeling a little too laidback on the couch.

When Brianna was done taking a long shower, she then began to prettify herself for Jason by firstly putting on the violet hanky panky peek a boo lace and silk bikini and then the violet silk robe, she removed the ribbon from her hair and then reached for the brush, which accidently fell on the bathroom floor and made a noise that wake Jason up.

Brianna picked up the brushed from the floor and began brushed her long hair in front of the mirror, she first brushed it to one side then decided to change it and brush it so it flowed freely around her face, then she changed her mind again and tied her hair up in a ponytail then decided against it too.

Brianna stares at herself in the mirror for while pursuing her lips and finally makes up her mind about her hair by brushing in to the side, ones the final decision made, she cleared the bathroom of her things and walks out into the room to find Jason supporting his weight on the back of the couch, lost in his own thoughts while staring out the window and onto the amazing night city views.

When he noticed Brianna in the room, he turned to her with an admiring boyish grin on his face when their eyes met; he then stood up from where he rested, paced himself towards her to face her from where she way standing in room.

"You look dreamy." Jason said caressing and appreciating Brianna's natural beauty.

"Thank you." Brianna welcomed his gently touch.

"The champagnes still cold. Should we toast?" Jason asked Brianna.

"Sure." Brianna responded keenly, and then looked on as Jason stepped back, retrieved the bottle of champagne from the backet, placed a cloth over the top and then popped the cork gently with not making any mess. He filled both champagne glasses and handed one to Brianna.

"To us. Always and forever." Jason said and they both clicked their glasses then proceeded to take a sip.

"Bri, slowdown." Jason advised her when he became aware that Brianna took down the champagne was too quickly.

"I'm thirsty, and this champagne tastes really good." Brianna said to him and he regarded her for a moment. "What is it Jason?" she asked him.

"Ever since we've stepped into this suite tonight, I've noticed that you've been a little uneasy around me, I don't know. You seem to be a little more self-conscious tonight. Are you nervous about something?" Jason asked her.

"What do mean?"

"I mean, we don't have to do anything tonight besides cuddling up and talk, till we fall asleep."

"Jason." Brianna set her glass down on the coffee table and gently touched his face, "I'm not nervous at all about tonight, I've just missed you so much, and, all I want to do right now is, make love to you." Brianna said kissing him briefly.

"You mean make-out, foreplay." Jason corrected to her and she regarded him for a moment.

Taking a few steps backwards away from him without saying a word, Brianna left Jason standing and guessing what she was up to next as he watched her take further back steps towards suitable distance, close to the bed.

When she stopped at a spot, she slowly begn to loosened the silk strings of her robe to reveal to Jason what she had underneath.

Jason's gaze darkened with lust when her robe touched the floor and stayed on her as she flirted with him, when she pulled the bed covers back and invited him to come closer.

With his gaze focused on her, Jason then walked to the meet her beside the bed; he placed his glass of champagne on the side table nearby and stared intensely over Brianna's face and body, while his has hand lightly caressed her arms, resting by her sided, until he reached her shoulders, then placed both his hands on her neck and back to slowly drew her closer to his lips for a deep passionate clasping kiss.

Next, Jason paused for a second and gradually directed Brianna body to rest her head on a pillow before he pulled climbed onto the bed after her and positioned himself between her legs, they started kissing her once more in the similar avid way they had initially began, then he moved on to trailing silky kisses along her neck, chest and down to the top of her breasts until he came across the top of her bikini.

He gently grasped the end of each tied silk sash and released it slowly, exposing each of Brianna's firmly aroused breasts, he then removed the bra entirely before he moved on to gently cap and squeeze each of her breasts in his hand, one at a time, then he moved his head lowered to placed his mouth over of her nipples before he began to circle her areola with his tongue, seductively drawing the nipple into his mouth before moving on to the next breast while Brianna lied beneath him, welcoming each and every pleasurable sensation he was giving her while she too ran both her hands over his hair and back.

Jason trailed further soft kisses down her body, from the middle of her breasts, down to her navel and slowly over her groin area and down each side of her inner thighs then back to kissing her mouth for a while until Brianna proceeded to move her hands beneath Jason's body, whilst they kissed, and slowly dug one hand into his pants to gently grab his erection and fondle with it lightly.

As the teasing gradually increased with provocative strokes, Jason breathing intensified too, when he became highly aroused with her caresses, and he went down to lightly pulled and bite her bottom lip for a kiss, after a while he stilled Brianna's hand when he felt the mass pressure to climax.

"What is it?" Brianna asked breathlessly beneath him.

"It's too much." Jason gave her an aroused gaze with a grin before moving on to give a her a swift kiss on the mouth and a trail of kisses down her body once more until he reached one side of her tied bikini, then began to slowly loosen the silk sash on the side, to expose her neatly shaved down genitalia. Brianna raised her hips up slightly to allow him to remove the bikini entirely then watched Jason toss it out of the bed and reposition himself between Brianna's legs once more, but this time he spread her legs apart in front of him before he went down on her and began to lick her gently, in the most delicate, not fully explored sexual part.

She began to mourned, while Jason circled his tongue on her and soon began to flex her hips delightfully in response to each and every highly stimulating upsurge he kept giving to her again and again.

Ever so now and then, she would tug at Jason's hair whenever she felt her body reached a peak and she'd orgasmed.

"Jason! Please!" Brianna called for him and he moved back up over her for a moment then took a sip of champagne that was still left on the glass he'd put on the side table and then gave Brianna some to drink too, which she finished the whole lot.

"You still thirty?" He asked looking down at her after placing the empty glass back on the side table.

"I'm ready." Brianna whispered to him and he regarded her for a moment with a dark yearning gaze, "I'm ready to go all the way." she added.

"You sure?"

"Yes." Brianna stared into his eyes sincerely, then reached down and grasping both sides of his white silk pants waist seam line and gently moved them down as far as she could.

Jason took note of her willingness and reached down to remove the rest of his pant before he moved back over her and kissed her tenderly.

"You'll stop me, if it too sore, right?" Jason told her.

"I will." Brianna assured him.

"Alright." he said with their mouths still touching.

He slowing reached for his length beneath her while she spread her legs apart and brought them up a little more to give Jason better access.

The first try on penetration, Brianna mourned in his mouth but quickly regain her focus on him, on the second try, Jason managed to break through her hymen and she sorely mourned when she felt an unfamiliar aching pressure entering her body.

"Aaah! Jason!" Brianna cried out, lightly scratching the skin on his back with the medium length manicured nails.

"Bri, I'm so sorry." Jason paused and caressed her temple with his hand, while he was still inside her, "It's over now, you did good" he told her and waited for her to relax for a while.

"Over?" Brianna asked him.

"Yeah, the part of you not being a virgin anymore." he said to her and she blushed beneath him.

"So, what happens now?" Brianna asked.

"If it's not too painful, we can get down to the making love part, but only if you want to, or else I can pull out and stop." Jason said softly to her and kissed her temple.

"No, I want to make love to you, Jason." Brianna gently brought his lips to kiss hers, and Jason began to slowly thrust into her and soon the aching mourning sounds began to sound more pleasurable, as she began to enjoy the new sexual sensations that sent intense and heavenly shock waves throughout her entire being which caused every bit of her inner deep muscles to clench blissfully after Jason found a tempo and gradually increased his thrusting which kept sending her to the point of sexual climax, until the two could not take any more and came to a breathless stand still.

Jason shifted his weight off Brianna and the two lied facing each other with satisfied smiles on the bed, under the covers, to allow themselves to cool down.

"How you feeling?" Jason asked Brianna, after he made himself comfortable on the bed with his head resting on a pillow.

"I'm fine." Brianna said to him.

"Really." Jason sounded concerned.

"Jason, I Love you, and tonight was perfect." Brianna said looking at him.

"I Love you too, and I'm glad to hear that you found tonight, to be perfect, because that's what I was aiming for. The perfect first." Jason shifted slightly to her side of the bed and placed a light kiss on her lips, "Let's sleep." he said grinning at her and the both reached for the side lights and clicked the switch off button before they returned to their embrace in bed, were they swiftly drifted to dreamland.

Morning came and Brianna was woken up by voices at the hotel suited door, Jason was thanking a hotel staff for the bringing breakfast up for them, as she stretched herself under the covers and blinked her eyes several times so they could adjust to the daylight in the room.

Jason rolled the tray of food to the sitting area near to the coffee table and parked it there when he noticed Brianna was looking at him.

"Good morning sunshine." Jason walked and seat on the bed beside her.

"Good morning, early bird." Brianna smiled at him.

"We got some hot breakfast to devour." Jason said to her.

"Help me up." Brianna lifted both her hands up to Jason and he helped her sit up, he reached down, picked up her silk robe and handed it to her, she pulled the covers back and noticed a blood stain on the white sheets on the side of the bed that she and Jason had made love, and her face redden in embarrassment when she saw that Jason noticed it too before she covered the blood stain straightaway.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure room service has seen one of those before." Jason said to Brianna while she blushed putting her silk robe on. "Let's have breakfast." he suggested and the two went on to take a seat on the couch.

"What time did you get up?" Brianna asked Jason while they eat.

"I got up just as soon as I heard the knock on the door this morning."

"If you only woke up then, then how did we get breakfast?"

"My dad asked someone to bring breakfast up to our room. He and Kathy spent the night at the hotel too."

"That's nice of him."

"I guess he knew we'd be too tired to go down and join them for breakfast after the night we've had." Jason said and she glanced at him timidly when she was reminded about the best part of their honeymoon night, "Let's finish eating, so we can hit the shower together and then go downstairs to meet up with my dad and Kathy, they'll take us home." Jason said to her.

"Home."

"Our home." Jason repeated once they were done eating.

He helped her up from the couch and gently pulled her by the waist and brought her closer to him and kissed her before they headed to the shower.

Mike and Kathy dropped off the newlyweds at the entrance of their building and saw them off, before they drove away.

Jason carried both the travel bags while Brianna carried his suit and her wedding dress at hand.

When they reached the door of the apartment, Jason got the keys out and opened so Brianna could walk in first, Brianna walked ahead of him and set down the staff she was carrying on top of their small four sitter dining room table then walked on to open some windows so some air could flow in. Brianna then walked around the place checking that everything was in place and switched on all the appliances and electronics on.

"Is everything in order?" Jason asked once she seemed happy with the place.

"Everything seems to be in place and in working condition." she said taking steps to meet him and then wrapped her arms around his neck so the two could stare into each other's eyes.

"What's on your mind?" Jason asked her searchingly before he slipped a short kiss from her lips.

"You, me, last night." Brianna drew and wet her bottom lip slightly.

"You want to do it again?" Jason asked her and she nodded her head at him in response to his question.

She then grabbed him by one hand and led the way to their bedroom where they came to stand face to face with each other beside the bed and began to slowly kiss and undress each other. Brianna reached for Jason's dark blue shirt first and removed it, then he reached for her black denims and removed it too, Brianna then helped Jason get his blue denims off before she allowed him to guide her to rest her head on a pillow on top of the bed.

Jason positioned himself between her legs and kissed her passionately once more using his tongue to stimulate both of them while he dug one hands beneath her orange flowing layered spaghetti strap top and began to tease each of her bare firm breasts.

It didn't take time for Brianna's body to start lusting and yearning for Jason's thrusts when her hips began to flex upwards towards Jason's equally matching erected sex.

She began to pleasurably growl into his ear, as they both seductively lingered on with their foreplay and he began to kiss the top of her breasts and returned to her mouth once more. Brianna paused beneath Jason and gestured to him to shift over to allow her to get on top of him, in one shift move she took charge and began to kiss him.

Jason moved his weight up and sat on the bed with Brianna's legs resting on either side of him while he stared up at her and gently reached and loosed each sash of her underwear and removed it completely.

"Let me." Brianna said to Jason just before he was getting ready to ease himself inside her while she supported her weight on his shoulders.

"You sure." Jason aroused gazed stared up at her once more.

Brianna moved one of her hands down the length of his body and reached for his erection then she slowly lifted herself up slightly and slipped Jason inside of her, slowly letting out a few light mourns in the process as she felt him fill her up, once she felt fully comfortable with him inside, she began to shift slightly on top of him as his arms wrapped themselves around her lower body and their mouths met again for a kiss and they began to move together in a rhythmic slow motion before, Jason laid back on a pillow and allowed Brianna to delightful take control while he ran his hand up and down the side of her upper legs, butt and lower navel tenderly, watching her, as she bite and licked her lips over him with her eyes closed with both hands positioned on his chest, mounting back and forth, enjoying each and every sensational feeling, Jason allowed her to seize from him under her command.

Brianna felt her sexual muscles begin to clench beneath her as she continued to fluctuate her body on top of him and then began to tilt her head upwards to the ceiling allowing Jason to view her as she deliciously lost herself on top of him, he then gently pulled her closer to him, so they could come face to face.

Jason secured some upward thrusts beneath her as they kissed passionately and kept Brianna in an orgasmic position as she continued to satisfyingly mourn.

Her mourns soon made him reach his peaked of climax and released himself inside her in the duration of the multiple thrusting. After their breath-taking quest, Brianna rested her breathlessly self on top of Jason to gain to some momentum in her breathing.

"We need to grasp towel." Jason said to her.

"What?" Brianna said looked up at him.

"I'm still inside you, if I pull out, the bedding's going to get stained, with semen." Jason said to her.

"You mean, you?"

"Yeah." he said "You need to lift up slowly and cupped yourself." Jason moved his eyes down to her lower body to indicate to her which part of her, he was referring to.

"Okay." Brianna moved up and very slowly lifted herself up from Jason then cupped her sex with one hand, carefully avoiding any outflow of semen from escaping, once she was safely out of the bed, Jason and her went straight to have another shower.

Monday came and there was a knock on the door, Jason left Brianna behind in the kitchen making some breakfast to answer the door. Jason had arranged with his manager to take the Monday off as an annual leave day, so he and Brianna could get the rest of their things to their apartment with the offered help of Chloe.

"Hi." Chloe greeted and hugged Jason full on energy.

"Hey." Jason was happy to see her too.

"Where's Bri?" Chloe asked Jason inviting herself into the open lounge from the door.

"She's in the kitchen making some breakfast." Jason said to her.

"I'll go greet her there then." Chloe said setting her bag on the corner of the couch in the lounge before heading into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mrs Millers!" she greeted Brianna while she in front of her stove about to plate up the third omelette.

"Hi Chloe." Brianna replied smiling back at her setting the frying pan aside on the stove to give Chloe warm and welcoming embrace.

"Wow, you looking, different." Chloe said analysing her from head to toe.

"Different. How?" Brianna asked her slightly shy.

"The same way I looked when I, mmh." Chloe paused and her face light up bright, "It's happened, hasn't it?" Chloe asked and Brianna nodded back to her to say yes. "Finally!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Shh, Jason's here." Brianna asked her to keep it down.

"He knows me, he won't mind." Chloe said and sighed in immense relieve.

"I hope you haven't had breakfast yet, cause I've made and extra omelette for you." Brianna said to Chloe.

"Even if I've had breakfast, I'd never miss out on your omelette anyway." Chloe said and helped Briana take some breakfast to the table where Jason was waiting.

The three set down and had breakfast together, after breakfast Chloe helped both Jason and Brianna get the rest of their things from both Brianna's house and the Millers apartment with a rented luggage trailer for the day, big enough for both of them to pack their remaining belongings.

Later on when they returned to the apartment Chloe remained behind and helped them with the unpacking, most of which were clothes that the three managed to hang, fold and pack away into the closet in just under three hours, then after everything was done, the three got into Chloe's car and went on to drop off the rented luggage trailer at its service location.

In the evening, Brianna and Jason treated Chloe to some Italian dinner at'Moretti's' restaurant.

"It's been a long time since we've been here." Chloe said when they were seated.

"Yeah, Jason and I weren't even dating." Brianna said remembering back.

"And now we married, who would have thought of that." Jason said.

"Me." Chloe answered assuredly, "I've always known that you two we're meant for each other and if I remember correctly, I'm the one that's always tried to bring the two of you together." Chloe said.

"Yeah, like the time you said to the waitress here that I was gay?" Jason said.

"I only did that, because I didn't want any ladies to come in between the two of you and make the obvious love you had for each other, take much longer." Chloe told Jason.

"I guess there's always a strategy behind what you do." Brianna said to Chloe.

"Yep, and I must say, you two are the best end result." Chloe smiled at them.

"Yes, we are." Jason said staring at his wife's eyes with a bright smile then watched as she blushed and flirted with him.

"Get a room." Chloe said and signaled to a waitress who came and take their orders for drinks and food.

"So." Chloe said "I have some news I want to share with you guys" she continued.

"You're pregnant?" Jason said suddenly.

"No!" Chloe answered straightaway without hesitation and slightly displeased with the first idea that came to Jason's mind.

"Jason." Brianna elbowed him lightly on his side.

"I'm sorry Chloe, I was just thinking out loud I guess, but tell us, what's news?" Jason apologized.

"Dad wanted to share the news but I guess I'll just say it on his behalf. Dad's moving in with Kathy next month, he told me last night. Which means that I'm going to have to find my own place too, and I was thinking of moving closer to you guys, you know, near West side." Chloe said to them enthusiastically.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Brianna face brightened up with the news, "that way we can still see each other as often as possible. It will be really nice having you close Chloe." Brianna and Chloe both felt animated.

"What do you say Jason?" Chloe asked him.

"I'm happy having you close too sis." Jason smiled sincerely to her "Just for as long as you promise not to make me sleep on the couch during a sleepover night." Jason joked with her.

"I wouldn't even think about asking you to do something like that, especially since I've noticed that you've brought about a few changes on my best friends surface appearances since the wedding night." Chloe said to Jason and Brianna's face hide and redden in embarrassment to what Chloe had split out during dinner.

"You told Chloe?" Jason turned and asked Brianna who was extremely self-conscious at the table.

"She didn't tell me anything, I saw how she look in the kitchen this morning, I've been there before." Chloe said to Jason.

"Right, here are your orders." The waitress set the food on the table.

"Thank you so much." Brianna said happy to see the waitress with the food, which made their table change the subject about sex.

After dinner Chloe, dropped Brianna and Jason back at their apartment and went back to the apartment she no longer share with her brother, to meet up with Tyrel who called earlier during their drive back to let her know that he was waiting on her back at her apartment block.

Jason and Brianna headed upstairs and went straight to their bedroom where they both, got dress into some comfortable pajamas, brushed their teeth, turned off the lights and cuddled up in bed to go to sleep.

"I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow, I just want to stay right here, holding you just like this." Jason said in Brianna's ear while the two were lying in a spooning position in bed under the linen covers.

"What time has your alarm been set for?" Brianna asked touching his hand in front of her.

"6:30." Jason responded.

"That's early." Brianna said.

"Yeah, let's sleep." Jason said to her.

"How are you with your dad, you know, moving in with Kathy?"

"I'm happy for him, but mostly happy with the fact that his found someone to be with finally, just like I have, at least I won't have to worry about him ever being lonely as he gets older, I just hope he doesn't mess up." Jason said.

"Like he did with your mother?" Brianna asked him.

"Yeah, like he did with my mother." Jason said to Brianna and left out a troubled sigh.

"At the wedding, did you miss your mom?" Brianna asked.

"I miss her everyday." Jason replied sounding low and Brianna shifted and turned to face him.

"I'm sure wherever she is, she's smiling down on you." Brianna caressed Jason's face and kissed him.

"Yeah, she is." Jason lifted Brianna's hand to his mouth and kissed it near the ring that once belonged to his beloved mother, then he moved her hand do and kissed Brianna on the mouth, "Let's sleep, you have college in the morning too." he told her.

"Yes Sir." Brianna said to him and returned to her initial sleeping position.

"Goodnight." Brianna said to Jason.

"Goodnight Bri." Jason responded and they both went off to sleep.

Tuesday morning came too soon when Jason's well trusted digital alarm went off, he rolled over and reached for the snooze button on the digital clock that he had on the pedestal on his side of the bed.

He took a good stretch to wake up before he got off the bed and left Brianna sleeping while he moved on to take a shower.

Once he was done getting dressed and having breakfast, he walked back into the bedroom and placed a sweet kiss on Brianna cheek while she continued to slept and said goodbye to her before he headed out the door to catch a bus and go to work.

Brianna woke up later in a panic when she noticed that she was running late for classes, she grabbed some clothes and put them on, and then she grabbed her bag with her books and ran to the kitchen to make herself a quick sandwich.

When she got to the kitchen, she paused and smiled, when she saw that Jason had made and packed her some lunch for school in a bag before he left for work that morning, he left a note for her saying,

Hope you enjoy my sandwich, have a nice day. I Love you, Mrs. Miller.

XOXOXO

Brianna grabbed her lunch and put the note in the back pocket of her blue denims, before she headed out the door and went straight to attend her classes, during her lunch interval at college, she sent a text message to Jason, thanking him for the sandwich she was having.

You can thank me later. ;)

She smiled back at his text, when she knew actually what Jason was referring to.

▷ After work, if I knock off early?

S**t I forgot you have to work tonight Can't you call in sick?

▷I've taken Friday and the weekend off already, don't want to abuse my boss's generosity.

You're right, I'll pick u up later, though.

▷I'll meet you at home, I'll take a taxi, I'll only be 5 minutes away from my job now, remember?

I forgot about that too.

▷You seem to be very forgetful today.

That's coz I just want you home, when I get there. Working while on honeymoon, sucks!

▷Hang in there, J.

I Love you.

▷ I Love you too.

 **Chapter Eighteen**

"Welcome back Brianna." Len greeted her while walking towards the bar.

"Hi Len." she said.

"So, how was the wedding? Did everything go according to plan?" Len asked taking a sit in one of the bar stools.

"The wedding was wonderful, everything flowed through nicely, thank you." she said back to him with a smile.

"You seem, happier and quite radiant, from the last time I saw you. You've changed, somehow." Len analyzed her from wear he sat.

"I haven't done anything different." said Brianna.

"Then it must be the honeymoon phase." Len said with a grin on his face which made Brianna slightly blush. "Better go check how the prepping's coming along in the kitchen before we open. Nice chatting to you." Len said getting up from the bar stool before heading to the kitchen.

Brianna got home at around 9:30pm after taking a taxi.

"Hi." Jason greeted her with a kiss, just as soon as she got in.

"Hi."

"How was work?" Jason asked her.

"It was alright, have you had dinner?" she asked him.

"I grabbed a burger on my way home from work" he told her.

"I'm sorry I didn't leave anything out any for you tonight, I still need to get some groceries for dinner meals"

"Don't worry, we still settling in. Have you had dinner yet?" he caresses her face.

"Yeah, at work" she replied.

"You know, I was waiting till you got home, hoping that we both could get into the shower together, before bed" Jason held her face and stared in to her eyes.

"You know, on my way here tonight, I was also thinking of ways, in which I could thank you for the thoughtful lunch I had at college today." Brianna smiled up at him and her kissed her tenderly.

"Come." Jason took her by the hand softly then lead her to their bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom, he turned on the shower to a precise temperature and left it running for a while, before he turned to Brianna, who stood close by watching him, and began to slowly undress her till she stood fully naked in front of him, then he too removed his clothes to stand completely nude before her.

"You're so beautiful, just standing there like that." He said admiring her bare self then drawing her closer to him, so they touched and felt the warmth of each other's bodies.

Jason stepped into the shower first then helped Brianna get inside with him, they both allowed the downpour of the cascading water to fall on them for a while, before they then began to wash each other, all over.

When the soap was washed off, Jason gently shifted Brianna up against the shower wall and began kissing her mouth progressively after she initiated foreplay by wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders to intentionally draw him to kissing her.

As their kissing gradually increased, Jason moved his hands down to her butt and squeezed it lightly, for an instant, before he lowered himself slightly and yanked her on her side, so she could come up and wrap her legs around him.

He lowered his mouth down to Brianna's neck to kiss and lightly bit her while still securing her light weight over on him. Brianna supported herself on his shoulder while Jason kept on assertively raising beneath her, building up to the yearning desire of penetration between them both.

After a while, Jason felt Brianna's leg become to slippery to grip, so he set them down then kissed her firmly on the mouth once more before he turned her around swiftly to face the wall. He ran his hands down her showered water soaked body until he reached her sides then moved back up to touch her breasts, pulling her back closer to him, so she could feel his aroused sex from behind her.

Brianna stood up straight, rubbed herself on Jason's sex a couple of times, before he proceeded to motioning her body to bending forward so he could grant himself access from behind. Brianna moaned pleasurably in the shower as the water continued to touch her skin and while Jason kept on with giving, pleasing sturdy thrusts from behind, using both his hands to pull her body back and forth, at his own pace, which started off slowly and steadily increased when he began to feel the build up of the vastly need to climax and emptied himself inside Brianna.

And after a brief wash down, they two left the shower, dried themselves and then went to bed, naked.

Three weeks after the wedding, Jason and Brianna still found themselves in honeymoon mode whenever they were alone.

The two couldn't seem to get enough of sex from each other even if they tired, and sometimes, on Brianna's night off, they would have sex twice in one night when they we feeling highly energized.

Sex felt really good to Brianna every single time she and Jason had done it, they both experimented having sex everywhere possible, inside their apartment.

They had done it on the couch, on the floor, on the dining room table and chair, on the kitchen counter and most recently on the chest of draws in their bedroom.

"Uh, that was unbelievable, Jason." said Brianna lying breathlessly naked beside Jason on the bed after they'd have sultry sex.

"I can't get enough of you." he said turning to kiss her when suddenly his cellphone ran and he had to roll over to his side table to get it. "Hello" Jason answered slightly out of breath.

"Where are you guys!" said Chloe over the phone wanting to know.

"We're at home, why?" Jason asked

"You sound a little out of breathe there, brother, are you guys um." Chloe said to him.

"Chloe, why are you calling?" Jason cut to the chase.

"Lucinda's in labor at the hospital and Tye's been trying to get a hold of both of you." Chloe informed him.

"Shoot, where are you?" Jason asked.

"I'm on my way to you, seeing that you'll be needing me to go with." Chloe told him.

"Alright um, we'll be down in 10 minutes" Jason told her getting up.

"I'll be there in 5." said Chloe, then she hung up.

"Bri, we've got to get dressed quickly." Jason said to Brianna ones he got off the phone to his sister.

"What's going on?" Brianna asked getting up to get dresses too.

"Your nephews on the way." Jason said to her.

"Really." Brianna got excited, got of the bed swiftly to get dressed in a record time of two minutes, "Which hospital are they in? How are we going to get there? I mean, what do we take with us?" she raised a few questions.

"For now, let's just go and support Tye, then we'll figure the rest out, come on, Chloe's probably downstairs waiting for us, she knows where to go." Jason took his wife by the hand and they both headed downstairs to get into Chloe's car then to the hospital.

When they got to the hospital, they had to wait, two hours while Lucinda, Tye and Paige stayed in the delivery room offering support and encouragement to a savely deliver little LeBron Owen Jr Johnson, who eventually came into the world weighting in at five and a half pounds.

The newborn had to be taken to neonatal ICU soon after he was born so the nurses could help him with his breathing purely due to being born at only 35 weeks old with premature lungs.

"Hi guys, I know it's a little sensitive now to say, but congratulations on your little one." Brianna said to both Tye and Lucinda when she, Jason and Chloe were allowed in.

"Thanks, Bri." said Lucinda.

"What did the doctors say?" Chloe asked.

"They said he came a little too early, his lungs are a little undeveloped, his going to have to breath with machines for while." said Tye.

"I'm sorry y'all, but I'm pretty sure you'll be taking him home soon though, right." said Jason.

"The doctor said he could be here for the next five weeks." Lucinda said sounding teary.

"Hey Lu, it's okay, he'll be fine." Brianna comforted, standing beside the hospital bed.

"His so tidy." Lucinda cried.

"But his strong." said Paige.

"Yeah, he is." Tye said.

"Let's say a little prayer for him" said Paige, creating a chain of hands around the room, everyone bowed their heads, closed their eyes and said a prayer before leaving the hospital after visiting hours were over.

"I feel like I need to do something." said Brianna, once she was in the bedroom with Jason, getting ready to go to bed.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Little LeBron didn't even give us time to plan a baby shower for Lucinda." Brianna said pulling the bed covers back and then got into the bed to cuddle up with Jason.

"I'm sure you can still have one." said Jason.

"After his been born?"

"Sure, his still going to be a baby for while."

"You right, we could plan like an after birth shower and a welcome home party, once his been sent home."

"That sounds great, but now we need some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." Jason said agreeing with Brianna's concept then reached for the side lamp switch off button, to allow darkness in the room where they slept.

"Jason." Brianna said his name softly.

"Yeah." he answered.

"When do you want to have kids?" she asked him.

"When?" he repeated.

"Yes." Brianna said.

"Why the sudden question, you feeling broody or something?" Jason asked looking at her in the night light that came from the street lamp through to their room.

"No, I just want to know." Brianna said to him.

"Okay, um, hopefully when you done with college and after you've found a far more career related job."

"That's like, 3-4 years from now." Brianna calculated in her head.

"Which gives us plenty of time to still relish each other so more and maybe,practice a bit more, before we multiple." Jason said shifting his body on top of hers, parting her legs beneath the covers.

"I though you said we needed some sleep." Brianna beamed, staring into his eyes.

"We do, but, all that small talk we've just shared has stirred up something in me"

"You're broody all of a sudden?" she gazed at him and he shook his head to say no.

"I'm just hard for you right now." Jason said taking one of Brianna's hands and placing it on his sex.

"That fast."

"Huh-uh" Jason moved in for a kiss, when Brianna began stroking him.

He then moved to kissing her neck lightly at the same time, he started running his hands up and down her soft body delicately as she bit her lip in anticipation to his fore coming foreplay.

His hands touched her bare skin underneath the printed sleeveless t-shirt she wore to bed, wearing nothing underneath. He rubbed one hand on bare her sex to feel if she was moist, before he introduced one of his fingers inside her after, she had moved her hands up into his hair.

He kissed her demandingly when he felt her tugging firmly on his hair and then he inserted a second finger inside her to stimulate her some more, using a consistent unhurried tempo.

"Jason!" she cried into his mouth after pausing to breath from kissing while Jason continued arousing her, progressing to giving her a hicky on the neck.

"Jason please!" she whimpered beneath him, flexing her hips in the same direction of his aroused sex.

Jason paused and lowered his boxers while she watched him, then he gently positioned her legs apart suitably before he lowered his body on top of hers and placed himself in between them, easing into her, using slow thrusting to fill her plea.

"Faster!" she whispered in his ear and Jason obey he command, when he arose to delivery more rapid thrusting.

The two continued on with some hard kissing while they endured each other's vast sexual appetite.

The faster Jason moved the more Brianna continued to respond, by keeping her legs firmly positioned beside him and running her hand up and down his back while she delightfully continued moaning which soon brought him to his highest peak, when she felt him emptying every last bit of him into her inner self.

"I love you." he kissed her tenderly before lowering his head on her chest to catch his breath.

"I love you too." Brianna touched his face and kissed his hair.

"Brianna, Brianna" Len snapped her out if her daydream after she'd received and read a text from Jason on Friday night while at work, which made her evoke recent memories they'd shared.

I'm on my way home, having a juicy peach, and I couldn't help thinking about how sweet you taste in my mouth too ;)*

"Oh. Len, I'm so sorry, I got a text from my." Brianna said behind the bar.

"It's okay." said Len, "I've just come to check if everything's in order around the bar for tonight."

"Everything's in order, yes."

"Good. And why are you wearing a scarf around your neck?" Len asked after noticing a short black silk scarf around her neck.

"I-um, my throats a little sore" she responded, trying to hide the newest love bite given by Jason the night before while they were all over each other in the kitchen, right after they had some late night scrambled eggs, followed by some fresh strawberries and chocolate which they feed to each other.

"Sore throat?" Len questioned.

"My mother said it helps" she said back to him.

"Alright." Len shook his head, "so then there's only two things left to say. One, Luke is running late, but I'm pretty sure he'll be here on time to serve the bar with you. And two, please stay focused tonight, okay."

"Sure, I'll put my cell away."

"Great." Len grinned then walked off to check on the table settings with the other staff.

By 9:30pm, after the kitchen had closed, the bar became busier than expected and so did the rest of the place, after the Friday night live DJ came through to entertain the crowd.

The space became crowed, the music was loud and the drinks orders continued coming, which Brianna and Luke just seemed to manage until Len walked behind the bar to take over Brianna's post.

"Brianna, I need you to go out there and serve some drinks to people, Lisa's been enjoying herself too much tonight, I had to send her off." Len said in her ear over the music while she pouring for a paying customer.

"Alright. But, what about the bar?" Brianna said handing a gentleman his whisky with ice in exchange of cash.

"I'll take over from here." said Len and she hand him the cash for the till before, retrieving a tray and walking out to the crowd for orders.

The first table she served was a table of five young women who all wanted different cocktails, then she serves a table of three middle aged man who wanted red wine, then a table of two couples who wanted tropical cocktails and the orders just kept coming throughout the night.

As she continued serving, she kept receiving better tips too.

She stood by the bar waiting on Luke to give her the next order of four beers glasses for another group of young males who waited across the room, when Luke filled up her tray, she acquired it carefully from the counter then turned to take it the men.

As she walked through the crowd, holding the beer glasses steady in front of her, she couldn't help but look and smile at a young women who looked similar to Chloe.

When she turned to look forward again, she felt the sudden coldness coming from the beers glasses that tipped and poured all over her dress and shoes.

A young male, six foot one with medium short length blonde hair, bright green eyes and strong jaw, bumped into her.

Their eyes meet for a moment and they both felt spell bounded as they stood motionlessly staring into each other's eye, observantly trying to study each other's thoughts, with strong sensual appeal and expressions whilst surrounded in the dark lit room.

"I'm so sorry." the young male said apologetically keeping his gaze focused on her as he reached for the side pocket of his black denim to takeout a handkerchief so he could try and dry her arms.

"It's okay." Brianna stepped back apprehensively, not wanting to be touched.

"Hey, you okay?" Luke asked tapping her shoulders, right after he left the bar, just as soon as he caught a glimpse of what had happened.

"I'm okay." Brianna said turning to him, when she turned to look back at the blonde male who took her by surprise, he had disappeared. "His gone." she said to Luke looking for him.

"Don't worry, Len saw what happened, go get yourself cleaned, I'll take care of the rest" Luke took the tray from her and she went straight to the staff change room to try and get herself cleaned up.

When Brianna entered the staff change room fuming and confused about the awkward yet somehow lusting moment of sexual desire she shared with a complete stranger.

She shook her head against thinking about it again and entered the change room where she immediately came across Lisa, who was laying sideways, stretched out on the old red three sitter checkered couch awake and looking straight at her after she had woken up from being blacked out for drinking too much.

"How you feeling?" Brianna asked her.

"The rooms still spilling." she replied barely keeping her green eyes open.

"Can I get you something?" Brianna asked.

"Please past me something to puck on." she said lifting herself up from the couch while Brianna rushed to her side with the small plastic trash can, then helped get her dark brown hair out the way so it didn't get messy.

" feels better, thanks." Lisa said after throwing up.

"I need to get cleaned up fast, before Len comes looking for me." Brianna told her.

"Cleaned up, what happened?" Lisa asked.

"This guy bumped into me while I was on my way to hand over four full glasses of beer to a table."

"Mmh, it's happened to me ones." Lisa said feeling remorseful for Brianna.

"Really." she said taking off her wet short apron.

"Yeah, that's why I've learnt to keep and extra dress folded in my locker."

"I guess after tonight, I'll also have to start doing that." Brianna said walking to the hand dryer to try the apron and her dress.

"That's going to take forever, just go to my locker and take my spare dress."

"It's okay Lisa, really, you don't have to." Brianna said politely.

"The smell of dry beer is going to drive you crazy, trust me. Just stop right there and take my dress from my locker." Lisa told her.

"Okay." Brianna said then walked to her, to get her locker keys.

"Mine's the middle one." Lisa said to her and she unlocked to take out a black thin spaghetti strap mini bottoming dress, similar to the one Lisa wore.

She took a second to analyze and think carefully about wearing the dress that was completely different to the black casual knee length dress she wore.

"It's a little shorter, but hey, it's not like you have much of a choice." Lisa told her.

"You're right." Brianna agreed then moved on to change in the closed single toilet.

After putting on the dress, she walked out into the room to check herself quickly in the mirror.

The first thing she noticed was the size of her C cupped breasts, that suddenly created an eye-catching cleave due to the dress being slightly more close-fitting and being put together using a stretchy fabric.

The second thing she noticed was that the length of the dress came slightly close to showing her thighs.

"Here" Lisa got up and handed Brianna her dry apron.

"Thanks" Brianna said feeling self-conscious about the exposing dress.

"The dress suits you well. Don't feel so conscious about it, it's dark out there anyway." Lisa told her.

"Brianna, are you ready. We're getting killed out here." Serena stepped into the changing room to call her out.

"I'm coming. Lisa, I'll get the dress back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for helping me out." Brianna said smiling to Lisa.

"Sure, whatever. Watch yourself out there this time." Lisa said.

"I will." Brianna then left the changing room to continued serving drinks.

The nightlife ended at 2am on Saturday morning, everyone felt exhausted after a hectic night.

Len paid everyone before he cashed up with Brianna's assistance that night.

"Here's your pay." he handed her hourly shit plus $100.

"Len, you overpaying me." Brianna alerted him, handing back the $100 note.

"No I'm not. That gentleman that knocked the drinks all over you came to see me at the bar, right after you left to get clean yourself up, he felt really bad for what he did and said I should give that to you, so you could get your clothes dry cleaned, right after he settled for the spilled beers too."

"$100."

"Yeah." Len said back to her.

"Huh" Brianna thought for a moment, "and here I was thinking that he was such a jerk for disappearing right after Luke came to check on me."

"Well, I guess there are still some decent people hanging around bars." Len said shutting the till,

"Yeah, I guess so too."

"Come on, let me take you home."

"It's okay, thanks. I'll call a cab." Brianna said taking her bag and her messy dress in her hand.

"You're 5 minutes up the road, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm heading that way to stay over at my girlfriend's place. I really don't mind dropping you home, seeing that you've stayed behind to help me cash up."

"Alright, I'll take the lift."

"After you." Len said opening the door to let Brianna out then he locked the doors and they walked to his car, which was a 2009 Ford Mustang, black with two white trips running in the center from back to front or vice versa.

Len opened the door for Brianna to get in then shut after her. She adjusted herself in the front seat, by putting the seat belt on, then pulling her dress down before Len got in.

Once Len was in he immediately started the engine and waste no time in putting his foot down, taking only half the time to get to Brianna's apartment.

"Here we are." He said after they arrived.

"Thanks for the ride." Brianna said sounding a little jumpy after they came to a halting stop.

"I hope you weren't too nervous about me speeding." Len apologized.

"It's okay. I figured, you just anxious to get to where you going. Thanks for the ride anyway." Brianna said taking of the seat belt then reached for the door handle to let herself out, trying her best to maneuver out the car without showing too much skin from the mini she still wore while Len watched closely as she step out of his car.

"Good night." she bent slightly and said to him, while holding the door.

"Good night" Len beamed at her then drove off in the same speedy manner down the road after she shut the door.

When Brianna opened the door and got into the apartment, she got a fright when she saw Jason standing behind her in the night light, staring at her with a slight glare in his eyes and wearing nothing beside his grey pajamas shorts, right after she shut the front door.

"Jason." She said startled.

"Whose car was that?" he asked in a low affirmative tone.

"Len's".

"Since when has your boss started doing, drop offs." he questioned her.

"He told me that his girlfriend stays close by, so he offered to drop me home." she told him.

"And the dress?"

"I had no choice but to wear it, since mine got spilled with beer." she said still holding her other dress in front of her.

"Oh." Jason seemed less tensed.

"Oh. Is that all you going to say? No more questions, Jason?" Brianna said suddenly feeling annoyed at him for having doubts about her whereabouts.

She shook her head at him and went straight to the bathroom for a quick shower, leaving Jason behind feeling dissatisfied with himself.

When she walked out the shower, she got dressed in her shorts and tank top pajamas.

Jason walked into the debroom, just as soon as she was done.

"Bri, I'm sorry for grilling you the way I did." Jason said to her as she walked past him fuming, not saying a word, then got into bed and switched off her side light.

"Bri, talk to me." he walked around the bed and sat beside her, and soon caught sight of her crying. "Please don't cry." he wiped her tears as she rose to sit up and face him.

"How am I not supposed to cry Jason? When you clearly suspected that I was being unfaithful to you, with my boss."

"Bri, just put yourself in my position for a second. You didn't text me the entire night, and then you come home dressed in different clothes, in a different car. What am I supposed to think." Jason shrugged his shoulders in anguish for bringing tears in his wife's eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't text you tonight. But by now you should know, that I only have eyes for you." She stared at him, "I love you, Jason. And I will never love someone else as much as I love you." she assured him and kissed his temple.

"I just don't want to lose you to anyone Bri. That's my biggest fear." he said caressing her face.

"You won't lose me. You and I will forever be one. You're my infinity, remember. My beginning with no end."

Jason gave her a slight grin then kissed her lips tenderly.

She then lifted the bed covers and shifted back on the bed to make space him, so he could lie in front of her.

He moved down to rest his head on her chest then wrapped his arms around her body.

She kissed his hair and they both soon fell asleep after a couple of minutes in silence.

Saturday morning arrived and Brianna and Jason were good, they had breakfast together and then Jason left to go and play basketball with Tye, who picked him up from outside their apartment.

Chloe knocked on the door a few minutes later and dropped in to visit her best friend.

"I'm so glad to see you." Brianna said giving Chloe a light hug by the door.

"Okay, talk to me." Chloe shut the door then brought Brianna to sit on the couch with her when she noticed a trouble face.

"Jason and I argued, last night."

"About what?" she seemed stunned since they had never argued before.

"Last night, my boss dropped me off here around 2:15am, with me wearing a mini dress, which I had to borrow because, some guy spill a whole tray of beer on me. And the whole night I forget to text your brother to let him know of what was happening and when I got home, he just started questioning and doubting me about things I haven't even dreamt about doing to him, like..." Brianna opened up to Chloe.

"Cheating on him?" Chloe concluded her sentence.

"Yeah, that." Brianna said.

"It's human nature to always think the worst. Are you guys still fighting, though?"

"No, we made up before we fell asleep." Brianna smiled.

"Well, that's good, but I sense, there's something more to that troubled face of yours I saw when I came in." Chloe told her and Brianna's eyes wondered to look down at her hands, which were placed on her lap.

"I have a question?" Brianna glanced up at Chloe, sighing deeply.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever found yourself in a situation, where you've stared into the eyes of a complete stranger and felt some sort of strong or intense, inappropriate and unexplainable sexual chemistry?"

"Not yet, but, it's obvious that you have." Chloe said.

"This guy that bumped into me last night, made me feel, hot and bothred, in a weird sexual way"

"Explain?"

"He made me feel like we were the only two people in the room. His eyes felt like they undressed me and I felt like I was standing in front of him, naked"

"Now, that's powerful, and kind of hot."

"If you think so." Brianna said to her and stood up from the couch. "Right now I just want to forget the whole thing. Jason's my everything."

"That guy you're talking about. Was he hotter than Jason?" Chloe asked curious.

"I said I wanted to forget about it, not talk about it, Chloe." she said folding her arms in front of her.

"What? I'm just curious. You know, maybe your minds just opening up towards wanting to explore what else is out there."

"My mind is only set on one person right now. So, now that you here, can we go and see how my nephew is doing" Brianna asked Chloe and in doing so she changed the direction of their conversation.

"Okay, go grab your bag" Chloe said.

The two left the apartment and went to the hospital after a quick stop at the floral shop, to get some flowers for Lucinda. When they arrived that morning, Paige was comforting Lucinda, who seemed quick upset about something.

"What's going on?" Brianna asked concerned.

"We've received some bad news about LeBron this morning." Paige informed both Brianna and Chloe.

"What news?" Chloe asked while Brianna offered support to Lucinda on the other side of the hospital bed.

"The doctors said. He needs surgery." Lucinda finally said teary, "They said he has um...a lung..."

"A lung malformation called congenital diaphragmatic hernia." Paige said.

"What is that?" Chloe asked.

"Basically they said he has a hole in his diaphragm that needs to be repaired with surgery, before his tiny abdominal organs find their way up to his chest cavity and prevent his lungs from expanding."

"His so tidy though." Lucinda said.

"But the doctors said he has a good chance right?" Chloe said.

"Yes, he done." Paige answered.

"How soon does he have to have it done?" Brianna asked.

"As soon as we find at least $20 000." Paige said.

"$20 000!" Chloe sounded shocked placing the flowers on a nearby stand.

"Medical insurance is already covering most of everything, but they said the specialist needs to be paid his owe fee." Lucinda said.

"Wow, that much money isn't easy to come around." Chloe said and Brianna gave her a singled out stare, try to point out to her to been a bit more optimistic about the delicate situation at hand, "I'm sorry Lucinda."

"It's okay Chloe. Tye said he'll be going to the bank on Monday to get credit, hopefully he'll get something." Lucinda said.

"I'm sure he will." Brianna said.

 **Chapter Nineteen**

Monday came and Tye started his day off, by going to different banks to hopefully get some credit for his son's surgery.

Most banks he walked into only offered him, half of the money he needed, due to him earning quite little from his job.

He accepted the offer given to him and signed some papers handed over to him.

On his way home he saw Tyrel walking out of a Burger King and decided to stop the car to talk to him.

"Tyrel." He called out to him.

"You're calling me?" Tyrel said looking around the parking lot.

"Yeah man, I need to talk to you" Tye said walking closer to his car.

"Is there something wrong with Chloe?" He asked.

"No man, no."

"Then we don't have anything to talk about." Tyrel reached to open his car.

"Uncle John." Tye said to him.

"What about him." Tyrel shrugged his shoulder to ask.

"I need to talk to him." Tye said.

"Bout what, coz surely you know he only talks to people, he wants to talk to and you know you ain't one of them."

"I know man, but his the only person that I can think of right now, that can help me."

"With what?" Tyrel asked.

"I need money for my kids' surgery, man. I know he's got plenty to loan."

"Sorry about your kid, man, Chloe's told me. But I don't think Uncle John will every loan you that sort of money."

"Look, I got half of what I need, I just need him to give me the rest and I'll pay him back." Tye sounded desperate.

"Alright, I'll give you his digits, you gonna have to convince him" Tyrel said feeling pitiful for Tye.

"Okay, thanks man" Tye said then Tyrel gave him Uncle John's private cellphone number and drove off.

"Who dis?" Uncle John asked on the phone.

"Tye Johnson."

"Who gave you this number?"

"I asked around."

"Why is you calling me?"

"I need a loan."

"Boy, this ain't no charity. If you want money from me, you gotta have a plan to pay it back."

"I need the money to pay for my kid's surgery." Tye said earnestly to him over the phone and heard a sigh come from the other side.

"Alright, come on over, I'm at the base, you still know where that is, right?" Uncle John said.

"Yeah." Tye said them heard him hang up.

Tye went to meet up with Uncle John at a distribution house, where drugs were cooked and packaged for sale, which was further on the inner sides of West Garfield; he walked to the back of the house, knocked and was let in by Candies who had cloves on with a mouth and nose mask and wore a crop top with mini denim short and sneakers.

"His in that room" Candies pointed the room to him chewing gum boldly.

"Thanks" Tye said stepping in, and then she shut the door behind him and continued on with what she was doing.

He stepped into the room Uncle John was in, which had a bar, a snooker table, a flat screen with a long leather couch.

"I see you still wearing that scar on your face, boy." Uncle John said to him laidback and seated on the couch looking at him with a glass of whisky in his hand and a Cuban cigar on the other.

"Guess so."

"Let's get down to business, how much you want?" He said turning back to the TV screen.

"$10 000." Tye said and Uncle John looked back at him surprised.

"That's a lot of money for someone like you to ask me."

"I know, but I'll pay you back as soon as I have it."

"How?"

"Monthly installments?"

"I don't work on that. If you still want it, you gotta know they'll be interest."

"I know." he said

"Candies" Uncle John called out to her and she came to him, "Go get me 10K."

"Alright." she said and left for a few minutes and returned with a stack of $5000 on each hand.

"Give it to him." Uncle John said and she handed the cash over to Tye, "Now." Uncle John said getting up from his sit to come face to face with Tye. "There's the money, use it wisely and make sure to pay me back or else...you know what's next." he said trancing his thumb on his scar, causing him to swallow hard.

Tye nodded.

"Good. I'll need $5000 back here in the next two weeks." he told him.

"Okay." Tye said, took the money and left the house feeling glad that he could safe his son's life but a dark cloud hang over his head, concerned about how he'd get $5000 in the next two weeks.

"Really, that's great news mama." Brianna said to Paige over the phone when she received news that LeBron would be going through with surgery to correct his malformation.

"It's all God's work, I prayed so much for Tye to get credit and he got it." Paige said.

"How's Lucinda?"

"She seems calmer, but she's still very nervous about LeBron, being so tiny and going onto an operating table."

"He'll be fine."

"Are you in college?" Paige asked.

"Yes, I ran out quickly to take the call."

"Well don't let me keep you."

"Thanks for letting me mama, love you."

"Love you too sweetheart, bye."

"Bye." Brianna hung up and when back to class.

The next morning little LeBron surgery was successfully done and he was soon taken into recovery and monitored throughout the next five days.

On Saturday morning everyone finally got to see him for the first time, through the glass on the Neonatal ICU while Lucinda held him in her arms and showed him off to everyone.

"His so cute." Brianna said looking at him.

"Yeah, he is." Jason agreed.

"Little trooper." Chloe said.

"I can't wait, till he comes home, so I can spoil him a little." Paige said.

"Where's Tye." Brianna asked looking around for him, then everyone noticed him standing behind them at the end of the reception desk on his cellphone, rubbing his hands on his forehead troubled with something.

"I'll go see what's going on with him." Jason said and left the women standing by the glass turning to look back at the baby.

"Alright, I'll make sure I do" Tye said last before he hung up and just before Jason reached him.

"What's going on?" Jason asked him.

"I'm in shit man." Tye said troubled and Jason face turned blurred.

"In shit?" he asked wanting more details.

"Follow me." Tye said to him and they moved on to the hospital chapel to talk. "I borrowed $10 000 from Uncle John for the surgery."

"Jesus Christ Tye!"

"I didn't know where else to get the rest of the money. He said he needed $5000 up front, in the next two weeks, but his just called me, saying that he wants it by tonight."

"So you lied to everyone, saying that you got the cash from the bank. Why didn't you talk to me first? Why didn't you call and ask for advice!"

"I went through six loan applications on Monday; the best offer I got was $10 000, it wasn't enough."

"I could have gone to the bank with you, I could've taken another loan in my name for you, why him?"

"I wasn't thinking straight, plus LeBron's my responsibility not yours. You've got my sister to look after now." Tye said desolately.

"I'll give you the $5000 you need today." Jason said to him.

"No. I'll try working something out with Uncle John." Tye turned down his help.

"If you show up to him without his money, you're probably not going to see your son ever again. I'll give you the money you need to keep him away for a while" Jason insisted and Tye broke down in tears.

"Thank you, thank you man." Tye gave him a grateful hug.

"Know, let's go see your son" Jason said grinning to him, afterwards and they pulled themselves together before walking out the chapel to join the rest.

Saturday after the hospital, Brianna, Jason and Chloe where invited to have lunch at Kathy's apartment for the afternoon so they could wish them well on the trip vacation they were about to take in the, Mexican of Isla Mujeres.

They spent the afternoon relaxing with some good conversation while some having a wonderful meal of cobb chicken salad with pita bread with different types of homemade salad dressing, all prepared by Kathy herself.

They all sat around the dining table, inside the modest two bedroom apartment situated on the West loop of Chicago , enjoying each other's company while some great music from the 70's and 80's played lightly in the background.

After lunch, Chloe had to leave to go to her newly rented two bedroom apartment so she could meet up with a potential roomie who answered to an ad she posted in the Near West side local newspaper for sublets.

An hour after she left, Jason and Brianna said their goodbyes too before they headed back to their apartment in Mike's car, which Jason asked to borrow while he was away on holiday for the two weeks.

When they got to their apartment, Brianna still had about an hour and a half before she had to be at work, so she and Jason decided to use the sensibly time together by going straight from the door to their bedroom to make love that afternoon.

"What time is it?" Brianna asked Jason while they were both still lying naked next to each other under the sheets.

"It's 5:30pm." Jason looked at his watch.

"We've been at it for an hour?" Brianna seemed surprised at the time that had flown by.

"I guess time flies when you're having fun." Jason shifted and moved between her legs once more.

"I better get ready for work" she looked up at Jason.

"I know, but I still haven't handed you the towel" he gazed down at her, then moved both her hands up to the top of her head and lowered his mouth to hers for a deep kiss, shortly followed by avid thrusts and light bits and kissed to the neck, mouth and ears until they both reached their highest peak and subsided jointly together in a massive climax.

Getting off the bed, afterwards, they both showered together and got dressed in front of each other.

"You're playing tonight?" Brianna asked Jason when she noticed him putting on his custom red and black basketball jersey and shorts.

"Yeah." Jason said.

"Again. I thought you played last weekend already?"

"We did, but it just so happens that there's a lot of sets coming up lately, and a lot of bets coming in too, so the fellas want to get into play and collect as much as we can, before the cold weather hits."

"Jason, as far as I know, our bills are up to date, right?" Brianna said tying up her hair in a bun while looking at the mirror.

"Yeah." he replied.

"So why do you have to play again today?" Brianna walked to stand and look at him.

"Tye needs me there to tie up the loose ends." He said to her.

"Okay. Just be careful not to get hurt." Brianna said.

"I'll be fine." he assured her.

"And, don't forget, tomorrow morning you and I need to go and get somethings for LeBron's baby shower and homing surprise party. Chloe said she'll be here at 11am."

"Mmh" Jason said pressing his lips together, "I think you'll have to go alone with Chloe in tomorrow morning."

"Why?"

"There's a set at 12pm."

"And Tye needs you to be there." Brianna finished his sentence rolling her eyes at him.

"Bri, I'm sorry."

"There's definitely something going on. You're covering up something for Tye, aren't you?" Brianna grew suspicious.

"There's nothing going on." Jason denied.

"Then why was Tye so stressed out on the phone at the hospital this morning?"

"I don't know, he didn't tell me."

"Really Jason." she questioned him.

"Bri, look, it's nothing for you to worry about, okay."

"So, there is something." she said staring into his eyes and Jason sighed apprehensively in admission to her words. "Please tell me." she asked him gently.

"I promised myself I wasn't going to tell you until I figured out a way to solve this dilemma with Tye."

"What dilemma?"

Jason sighed heavily.

"Tye only got $10 000 credit, loaned to him from the bank. The other money he borrowed from the man he once sold drugs for."

"Uncle John?" Brianna said shocked.

"Yeah. This morning, Tye got a call from him at the hospital. He wants half the money tonight. And I told Tye that I'd give him the half he needs to keep him away for a while."

"Why would he do something like that? Or go to someone like him?" Brianna said saddened with her brother's actions, "Jason, you need to stay as far away from him as possible." she suddenly seemed worried.

"I'm not going to see that drug lord. I'm just giving the money to Tye. Don't worry about anything, he's only done this because he wanted to save LeBron's life." Jason caressed her face.

"I know." Brianna started tearing up.

"Come here." Jason comforted her then gave her a tender kiss on the mouth.

"Please, just text me the whole time tonight, okay."

"Okay, I'll pick you up later."

"Let me get my things." Brianna said, then she and Jason left the apartment and he dropped her off at the night bar and grill, then followed suite.

And so, throughout the entire busy night Brianna kept her cellphone closeby and checked each and every text Jason sent through to her whenever she had the change to glance at it during the night whilst working behind the bar, letting her know what he was doing during the entire night.

18:15

Just got to the house.

18:45

At the court, waiting on Tye for the game to start

19:00

Wish me luck, game's about to start.

▷Good Luck

20:10

You're mom's feeding me, says I'm looking a little skinny. Didn't have the courage to tell her that I've been ex-sex-cising a lot ;)

▷Thanks for making me blush.

My plesh ;)

22:00

Just got home, had a shower, watching some TV. Let me know when you're done.

▷ Will do, luv you.

01:30am on Sunday morning was the time the night bar and grill closed its doors; everyone got paid their tips and left while Brianna and Len stayed behind to cash up.

"What a night." Len said putting away some cash in the money bag after counting with Brianna.

"Yeah." Brianna responded taking out her cellphone, to texted Jason to come get her.

"Thanks for helping me cash up again."

"No problem."

"Here." he handed Brianna her pay.

"Thanks." Brianna put her money in her bag.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

"I'm alright for tonight; my husband's coming to get me any minute now." Brianna said walking towards the exit door.

"Then I'll wait with you by the door, till he gets here. It's dark and dangerous to stand outside at this time." Len followed her to the door.

"He'll be here in a matter of minutes, don't worry about it."

"A lot can happen in minutes, you know." Len said glancing flirtatiously straight her with a charming smirk on his face.

"How's your girlfriend?" Brianna busted out the first thought that came to mind to stop the inappropriate romanticisms Len was trying to create between them.

"We broke up last night." Len responded swiftly.

"Oh, I'm sorry for asking."

"Don't be, break-ups happen all the time."

"How long did you guys date for?" Brianna asked.

"Two months."

"Short time."

"Yep, but I'm pretty sure it won't be long till I find someone else." Len said thoughtfully.

"I'm pretty sure too." Brianna smiled at him politely then looked outside to see if Jason was there, "His here, thanks for the small talk. See you on Tuesday night" Brianna said goodbye and Len opened the door for her.

"Goodnight." Len smiled at her and she smiled back then watched as she headed out, got into the car, gave Jason long smooch then saw them off.

Over the next few days Brianna couldn't help but noticed that Len was trying really hard to get her to notice him all the time.

He began spending a lot more time behind the bar, helping her serve the drinks and running the till while Luke served and check tables.

Len seemed to suddenly become quite clumsy on his feet too whenever he was around her or in close proximity to her, to see if she'd come to his rescue. He would do things like picking up a bottle and almost dropping it in front of her or juggling plastic bottles and dropping it, just so he and she could both pick it up.

Brianna felt that somehow Len become a boy again, a boy who was trying really hard to grab her attention. But, with Brianna, none of his tricks ever worked, instead , she kept her opinions to herself and just kept on with a polite smile on her face.

Friday night on his way to pick up Brianna from work, Jason got a puncture on the front left tire of his dad's car, just outside the house in West Garfield Park.

He texted Brianna and told her he'd run a little late and that he'd still pick her up.

Brianna agreed to wait and Len stayed behind with her while she waited for Jason, since he didn't feel like going anywhere that night and decided to pour himself a drink of scotch whiskey on ice.

He offered Brianna one and she preferred to have some water instead.

"So, how's it like being married?" He asked wanting to start a conversation with her.

"I'm enjoying it."

"What do enjoy mostly about it?"

"Waking up and going to sleep next to that someone you love, it feels incredible, you know, having to share the rest of life and first time experiences with the only person that fulfills you heart." Brianna said beaming.

"How long have you and him, been together for?"

"We've known each other since we were quite young, but we've only ready been in a serious relationship for a year."

"And you guys got married, Wow."

"What can I say? We fell hard for each other."

"Do ever think that perhaps one day, who knows, you two might split up. Or end up divorcing each other like most couples around the world, who get married too quickly and regret soon after?"

"Jason and I are taking each day as it comes. We both trying not to think too much about the negative things."

"It's not negative things, it's reality and it's happening everyday." Len told her.

"To the people who obviously get married for the wrong reasons." Brianna gave a comeback, "What is it with you tonight, Len? Where are all these bad notions about bad relationships coming from all of a sudden? Did you and your girlfriend end up badly last week or something?"

"No, I'm just deliberating. Look, I'm sorry for being such bad company tonight."

"It's okay" Brianna checked her cellphone and a saw a text from Jason saying he'd be there in 10 minutes and she replied to him with an 'okay'.

"Shoot, forgot to take the empty bottles trash out. Can you give me a hand?"

"Sure, might as well use up the time while I wait" Brianna said getting of the bar stool to help Len take a bag out.

She followed him to the back door and they both walked out and put the trash with the other bags outside.

"Thanks for helping me, you're a really sweet person, you know that." Len took a step closer to her, making the gap between them smaller.

"Sure, I'm glad you think so" Brianna took a step back then walked past him to go back inside.

As she placed her hand on the door handle to pull open the door, Len came right behind her and shut it, trapping her with both hands on either side of her shoulders.

Brianna turned to look at him, noticing that had he closed the personal space between them once more.

"Len, what are you trying to do?" she apprehended him.

"What does it look like." He said staring at her eyes and then her mouth.

"I think you've had a little too much to drink in there and you must be a little confused if you think that I want to um..."

"Make out with me?" he arched his brow at her.

"Yes." she whispered back uneasily.

"You know, I have this image in my head about you that just, doesn't seem to go away. It's an image of you getting out of my car the other night, in that tight dress." he said looking down at her body then glanced back at her face "ever since I caught a glimpse of your body, your legs. I've been imagination a lot of things I'd like to do to you" his gazed darkened over her and she moved uncomfortably in front of him.

"Len, I'm not that sort of girl. I'm faithful to one man and that's it." she said innocently then swallowed hard when he pressed his lips together and bent his head down in shame taking in a dissatisfied sigh with Brianna's response to him trying to seduce her.

"You're trying to play me" He said looking back at her, slightly riled.

"Excuse me!" Brianna said.

"Come on Brianna, the only reason you ever stay behind with me after everyone's gone, is because you want something to happen when we're are alone. You always smiling and flirting with me whenever we're around each other."

"The only reason I ever stay behind is to help you close up when everyone gets off not wanting to help"

"Really, so you don't like me?"

"Len you're my boss, just because I smile at you a lot, doesn't mean I like you." Brianna cleared things to him. "Please just let me go." she asked to be released from his trap.

He stepped back and she turned around, pulled the door open and walked back inside feeling enraged by what had just happened. She grabbed her things and headed toward the front outside door.

"Where you going?" Len walked back in after her.

"I'm going to stand outside and wait for my husband there!" Brianna continued walking towards the outside.

"Wait." Len grabbed her by her upper arm.

"Let go of me!" Brianna tried to shake him off unsuccessfully, then he forcefully pulled her in for a forced kiss and she pushed him off her. "You're sick!"

She turned to walk to the door again when he pulled her back, pinned her against one of the concrete columns inside the building and began to force himself on her again.

She fought back against his strong force until they both ended up sinking to the floor and wrestled a bit.

"Len. Please. Stop" Brianna pleaded with him.

"Just give it a try." he ignored her.

"I don't want to." she fought back with her hands when he climbed on her and she felt her dress rise beneath her while he secured both her hands to her sides, making her defenseless against him.

"Just calm the fuck down!" he said unsympathetic over her, tightening his ripe around her wrists even more than her legs started shaking.

"Please, you hurting me" she said to him afraid of what was to come.

"I'm sorry. Just don't fight" he said to her leaning down to smell her scent while she had her face turned to the side.

He released one of her hands so he could remove his belt from his denims and when he did, she slapped him and tried pushing him off her, when he suddenly surprised her to with a slap to her face, making her still.

"Look what you made me do." he grew even more furious.

"HELP!" Brianna screamed and he covered her mouth.

"Don't make me knock you the fuck out." he said over her, "You'll enjoy me. I promise. I'll be real gentle, but only if you don't fight this." she trembled in fear under him, "Now. I'm going to remove my hand and touch you just a little bit, if you scream" he warned her and she nodded her head to let him know she understood what he meant.

Len took his belt and tied Brianna's hands together then held them close by with one hand while his other hand travelled down her body to pull her dress further up so he could have full view and access between her legs.

Brianna started tearing up when she heard her cellphone vibrate in her bag, she knew it would be Jason calling but she couldn't answer it.

In her head, she said a prayer for him to come looking for as she laid on the floor staring straight at the exit door while Len reached for her breasts and fondled with them.

"Look at me." he repositioned her face to look at him.

"Please." she cried.

"Please what."

"Please just let me go, I don't want this." she said.

"Kiss me." he demanded.

"No." she shook her head and pressed her lips together when he touched her cheeks.

"Kiss me and I'll let you go." he said calmly to her.

"You lying. HELP! HELP ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and he shut her up with a sturdy punch to her face, slightly knocking her unconscious.

Jason was walking towards the entrance glass door to call Brianna out when he heard her scream, he tried opening the glass door but it was locked from the inside, when he looked in he caught a glimpse of Len turning Brianna, face down on the floor, pulling up he dress then and trying to get his pants off.

Jason reacted fast by grabbing the closest object to break the glass in front of him, which was a medium square sized concrete pot, used for the outdoor décor, and once the glass was out the way he ran inside.

"Get of her!" he pulled Len of off Brianna with all his strength then climbed into him and began to deliver several hits to his face then got up and began to kick him all over while Brianna turned to her side, looked on in horror and struggled to sit up.

"Jason. Enough. You're going to kill him." she said to him when she noticed Jason turning viciously unstoppable.

When he heard her voice, he stopped straightway and came to her aid.

He picked her up with the rest of her things then carried her to the car, leaving Len behind bleeding with a several lacerations to his face.

"I'm taking you to the hospital." Jason said putting her in the car.

"He didn't rape me." Brianna said to him.

"But he hurt you!" Jason touched the forming bruise on her right cheek bone.

"Please just take me home." She told him.

"Bri."

"Jason, please!" she begged.

"Okay." he listened to her and got in the car.

When they got to the apartment, Jason set Brianna down on the couch and got some ice for bruised eye.

He sat in silence, comforting her while she cried non-stop, still feeling traumatized.

"Shh, you're safe now." Jason held her closer to his chest.

"I was so weak. I couldn't fight him off me...I" she said trembling.

"It's over now, don't blame yourself. His to blame in all of this, not you." He kissed her temple and stare at her face.

"Would you still love me if he..."

"Just stop. Stop thinking about it." Jason shook his head at her trail of thoughts, then comforted her once more, feeling livid inside. "I love you so much. I would've kill him, if you hadn't asked me to stop." he confessed to her after and Brianna moved back to look at his face, which bore raw fury.

"I love you too." she stopped weeping and caressed his face then dropped the ice on the floor to get closer to touching his lips, for a prolonged tender kiss where her hands soon travelled down to grab his unaroused sex.

"What are you doing?" Jason whispered gently to her and placed his hand over hers to make her stop touching him.

"I need you. I need your touch. I need all of you to make me forget. Make me feel like I'm yours. Like I'm all yours." she said climbing on top of him on the couch.

"You are mine." Jason assured her, "and I'm never letting anything else happen to you again, do you understand?" she nodded "I'll take care of you, better than I've been doing." he stroked her back.

"Can you shower with me?" she asked

"Of course." he replied softly to her then he followed her to the bathroom.

Once inside she turned the water on and allowed in to fall for a while, the she got in, bare footed but still fully clothed, and allowed the lukewarm water to pour all over her, Jason took off his shoe and plain v neck, dark blue T shirt then jointed her still wearing his black cotton blend casual slim fit cargo shorts.

They came embraced each other and used their bodies to soothe while they water too provided some extra tranquility with its flowing sounds.

They both stood in silence for a countless minutes before Jason then moved on in and helped Brianna take of her wet dress and under garments.

He washed her hair and body too before he too got himself cleaned.

When they were done showering they moved on to their bedroom where Jason then dried Brianna's body and hair, creamed her, then dressed her up in her yellow printed cotton sleeping dress. He laid her in bed, tucked her in, went back to the closet to put on his sleeping short then went to get her a painkiller before he came to lie behind Brianna and held her close to him.

"How you feeling?" Jason asked her.

"Safe." she held his hand close to her chest.

"Good. Everything's going to be alright. Close your eyes, I'll be right next to you when you wake up." Jason said to her. And with his words she left safe, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep instantaneously, feeling rather exhausted.

The next morning Brianna woke up with a fright whilst lying on her back. She turned to her side and caught the sight of Jason peacefully sleeping, next to her. She didn't want to wake him up, so she laid very still and stared at him as he breathed ever so serenely in his sleep.

She smiled at him, when she caught a glimpse of him smirking in his sleep and wondered what he'd be dreaming about. After a while she decided to creep out the bed went, very quietly, to go and make some breakfast for the both of them.

Before she moved to the kitchen, she recovered her hand bag from the couch to look at the time on her cellphone, 09:20am it showed, plus an unread message from Chloe which she read saying.

Found myself a new roomie. But I would have still preferred you :). Can't wait to come and to talk to you about her in the morning? If it's okay, of course, just in case you and Jason want to lay in a bit, let me know? ;)

' _Of course you can Chloe.'_ Brianna said to herself, then paused to think, if she really wanted her friend to see her with a bruised face. ' _But then again, if I don't tell her, she's probably going to kill me for not doing so.'_ she continued with her thoughts while looking at her cellphone.

She hit the reply button, wrote the chain of events that happened, and then told her to come around later, after Jason's had a chance to wake up and have breakfast with her first. Brianna moved to the kitchen to start on breakfast, while she got started on the eggs, she received a reply text message from Chloe saying.

OMG, shocked as hell. Okay, let me know when I can come.

▷Tnx 4 understanding

Jason woke up to find that Brianna wasn't in bed, he went off to find her in the kitchen, finishing up on dishing out two plates of crispy bacon, scrabbles eggs and toast.

"Morning." he walked up to her in the kitchen happy to her.

"Morning." she said brightly.

"How you feeling?" he caressed her face.

"I'm okay. Let's go have some food." Brianna handed Jason a plate with some cutlery and they both moved to eat at the dining room table, where she had already sent two plate mats, two glasses and some orange juice.

"How's your hand?" Brianna said noticing his right hand bruised knuckles.

"It's okay." Jason said taking a bit of the food.

"I saw a text from Chloe last night, she said she's found the right roomie and she's coming over today to talk me all about it."

"Does she know about last night?"

"I've filled her in."

"Maybe it will be good, to talk to her too, right."

"Yeah." Brianna grinned at Jason for a while.

"What are you thinking off?"

"This morning while you were sleeping, I watched you smirking in your sleep, you seemed so happy. What were you dreaming about?"

"Smirking in my sleep?" Jason questioned her.

"Yea, you looked so peaceful and joyful; you even had me smiling for a while. Come on; tell me what you were dreaming about?"

"I can't remember." he shrugged his shoulders while eating

"Don't lie to me Jason."

"Okay. I dreamt that we were at our wedding, having, fun and dancing, like we did, but this time, my mother was there. She was dancing with you and she told me that she was really happy with my choice of, choosing you as my wife." Jason said, contemplatively.

"Wow." Brianna felt touched.

"That's what I dreamt off." Jason continued eating.

"That's a good enough reason to smile." she said as they finished on their breakfast.

Jason took on the responsibility to clear the table and wash breakfast dished while Brianna moved on to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

When she stood in front of the mirror that morning, she couldn't ignore the dark bruise around the right side of her face.

She touched it gently as and to felt uneasy, when she heard Jason come into the bathroom, she quickly dismissed her poor thoughts and washed her face with some soap, then dried it.

"Hey. I'm here, everything's fine" Jason held her hand when he noticed her trying to disguise her anxiety.

"I know, I know you're here." she embraced him till she felt she had enough, then moved on to the bedroom to get dressed into some different clothes before she texted Chloe and told her to come over, which she did, in a flash.

"Oh my God, Bri, he really hurt you bad." Chloe said sitting next to her best friend on the couch holding her hand, staring straight at the bruise around the right side of her face which had spread all around her eye and cheeks, looking darker over the past few hours "You need to get even with him. Did you guys file a report against him?" she asked.

"We can't really do that." Brianna said.

"Why not?" Chloe asked.

"I-I fought him off her, with a few blows" Jason said.

"How bad did you beat him up?" Chloe asked looking at Jason who set next to Brianna as too.

"Enough to have knocked some sense into him" Jason said firmly.

"Good, he deserved it." Chloe said turning her attention back at Brianna.

"Look, I'm going to have to leave you both here for a while, everyone's probably waiting on me." Jason said getting up from the couch dressed in his basketball gear, "Bri, if you need anything, just call me, okay."

"Okay, be safe." she said.

"I'll stay here, for as long as Bri wants me to." Chloe said.

"Thanks sis. I'll be back in 2 hours." Jason thanked Chloe with a grin and kissed Brianna before he grabbed his keys and left the apartment.

"Why didn't you call me last night after it happened?" Chloe asked Brianna.

"I just wanted to get home and, forget the whole thing. Everything happened so fast, thank God Jason heard me when he did."

"What a bustard!" Chloe said after her.

"Yeah. But I've never seen Jason lose it, like he did last night though, he said if I hadn't told him to stop, he would have killed Len." Brianna recalled.

"You're his wife; any man would have lost it, if they saw their wife in the same situation you were in last night."

"You're right, but what happens if Len tries to open a case of assault against Jason? I mean, he didn't rape me but, Jason left him bleeding on the floor, all beaten up."

"Bri, he'd be stupid to that, look at your face, he hurt you and he knows it too. So don't worry about anything, okay." Chloe told her.

"You're right, you're absolutely right." Brianna sighed in relief.

"Fuck Len and Fuck that job."

"Can I make you some tea?" Brianna asked.

"Sure, let's go to the kitchen." they both got up from the couch and went the kitchen to make some black tea.

"Hey fellas, sorry I'm late" Jason apologised to his team at the basketball court.

"Wife kept you in bed this morning?" Bowie said.

"Nah, I just ran late." Jason replied.

"What's goin' on with your hand?" Tye asked when he noticed Jason's right hand bruised knuckles after he grabbed the basketball from Bowie to start the game.

"I'll tell you after the game." Jason said moving pasted him to get the game started and Tye followed.

The bets placed were of $150 each ,from each player, each team had four players and the total bet in play and to won by each of the members in team after play was doubled when they won against the opposing team.

Jason handed his profit over to Tye towards paying of the rest of his debt to Uncle John.

"How much do you have saved up?" Jason asked Tye after the team had split.

"I got about $1000 saved up."

"That's still far from the $5000 you still owe him." Jason leaned against his father's car.

"I know." Tye agreed with him. "I've asked for extra shifts this week, so at the end of the month I might have a little more cash. I'm sure if I give him something, he won't be all up in my case."

"I hope so." Jason told him.

"So what happened to your hand?" Tye asked him.

"I got into a fight last night with Brianna's boss."

"What. Why?" Tye seemed stunned.

"I had to pull him off her last night, after he was trying to force himself on her."

"In what way?"

"I found her facing down on the floor; he hit her hard, bruised her face." Jason said fuming inside.

"Motherfucker!" Tye gripped hard on the basketball in ticked off.

"Oh, I gave it all to him last night." Jason assured Tye.

"What about Bri?"

"She didn't want to go to the hospital after that. She's at home with Chloe."

"Huh" Tye shook his head in disbelief, "I knew this night job thing wasn't a good idea."

"Tye, it could've happened at any job. That shit boss of hers was just taking a fucking chance with her that's all there is to it."

"Yea right, he was. Look, I'm gonna go home, get myself cleaned up, then I'm comin' over to your place, alright?"

"Sure." Tye gave him a swift bro hug went straight home to get ready.

"Yo Jason, Jason, hold up man." Jason stopped and rolled down his driver's window for Bowie, before he took off.

"What is it, man?" He asked.

"I wanna show you something, open the door, let me in, man." Bowie said and Jason unlocked his doors so he could jump in the front seat.

"Look here." Bowie showed a picture of some puppies to Jason.  
"They cute." Jason said.

"Yeah, my cousin say's they're Siberian huskies and she's selling them for $50 a pup."

"And you want me to get one?" Jason asked and Bowie shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe, Bri might like one?"

"I don't think so, man." Jason was undecided then thought about the fact that, perhaps a dog could help keep Brianna's mind out of certain incidents.

"Come on Jason, doesn't you apartment allow animals in them" Bowie pushed on.

"Okay, I'll take one" Jason said and gave him the $50.

"You're da man. She lives just three blocks away from here, she still got five to choose from."

"Alright, let's go get one." Jason drove to the house where Bowie took him to find a dog.

"So tell me about this roomie of yours?" Brianna asked Chloe while they had some tea on the couch.

"Mm, let's see." Chloe said after taking a sip. "She's a tattoo addict and a makeup artist, who's quite gothic, has a lot of piercings and works as a photographer somewhere in Chicago."

"Wow that sounds interesting." Brianna said.

"Oh, she's interesting, trust me, but she's paid me what I've asked for already, which say a lot."

"And has Tyrel meet her yet?"

"He thinks her tongue piercing is cool, and since then, his been telling me to do one too."

"What for?"

"Apparently he 'heard' from friends that a tongue provides more sensation getting a blow job." Chloe rolled her eyes at the idea.

"What?" Brianna said.

"That's what he told me and to be honest I actually read a survey about it in the cosmopolitan magazine."

"And you're considering doing it?"

"No, it looks off putting, the way it's done, from the video's I've watched."

"It sounds of putting to me, just by hearing about it." Brianna said.

"Bri, since we've mention Tyrel, I can't help but ask if you anything about the situation Tye's put himself in with Uncle John."

"I don't much about it what's been going on." Brianna confessed unhappily.

"Tyrel's told me that he still owes him half the money."

"I know, that Jason's been going over to the courts on the weekends to play and help get in as much money as he needs."

"Bri, as you're best friend and sister-in-law. I'm going to have to be frankly honest with you and say or at least beg you, to ask Jason to stay as far away from Uncle John as possible, he's a very dangerous man."

"I know he is, but Jason's told me that he's not going anywhere close to that man himself."

"Tye's really put himself in a mess like no other."

"Jason said he had no choice, he wanted to save LeBron."

"Putting his life in danger."

"Let's talk about something else." Brianna suggested.

"Okay. What's going on with your hair?"

"What, is it bad?"

"How long haven't you straighten it for."

"For ages."

"Come on, let me straighten it for you." Chloe offered.

"Let me shower and wash it, then we'll get down to straightening it."

"Okay." Chloe said making herself comfortable on the couch to watch some TV while Brianna went to take a shower.

After showering and getting dressed, Chloe sort out to do Brianna's hair and once Brianna's hair was done using a ceramic hair straighter, they both moved on to see who was at the door when several knock's where heard.

"I'll get it." Chloe said to and opened the door, "Ah, it's you." she said and let Tye in.

"Hi Chloe, where's my sister?"

"Step right in." she said.

Tye walked into the apartment carrying a pot of blossoming African violet flowers and handed it to Brianna when he saw her.

"I got you these." he said noticing the bruise on her face.

"Thanks, how kind of you." she smiled appreciatively.

"Jason told me everything."

"I'm feeling better. Does mama know?"

"Not yet."

"Good, she's already got LeBron to worry about." Brianna said placing the flower pot at the centre of the coffee table.

"Looks nice there." Chloe said and Brianna beamed at her.

"Let me show you around, then I'll get you a drink." Brianna said to Tye.

"Thanks." Tye said feeling a little out of place in the apartment.

While Brianna and Tye toured the kitchen, Chloe heard Jason struggling to open the door; she got up from the couch to open up for him.

Once she had a full view of what Jason was holding in his arms, she wanted to say something, but Jason stopped her just in time.

"Just help with the bags." he whispered to her.

"I want to hold it." she said quietly.

"The bags Chloe, where is she?"

"In the kitchen with Tye, getting a drink."

"Okay, get her here."

Chloe picked up the groceries shopping and Jason carried in the rest of the dogs essentials he got.

"Jason's here." Chloe said walking into the kitchen with some groceries.

"He went shopping?" Brianna said and tried looking into a bag to see.

"Uh-uh, he's in the lounge waiting for you, his got something he wants you to see."

"Okay." Brianna grew curious and walked out of the kitchen then into the lounge to find Jason standing with a snow white Siberian husky puppy that had light blue eyes with, perky little ears and had a purple bow ribbon wrapped around its neck.

Brianna's eyes brighten up in adoration to the little creature as she walked closer to Jason and touched it.

"Oh Jason, it's so cute, what is it, male or female?" Brianna asked.

"Female, I took her to the vet for a quick check, got her first vaccine, that's why I'm a bit late."

"How old is she?" Brianna grabbed her from Jason.

"6-7 weeks old, they said."

"She's so sweet, look at her." Chloe said walking to stand next to Brianna.

"You got a dog?" Tye said.

"Bowie, told me his cousin had some, I couldn't resist when I saw her."

"That Bowie's always got something going on the side."

"But look at her; she's a cute ain't she?" Jason said.

"Yea, she is." Tye couldn't disagree with her cuteness.

"What you guys naming her?" Chloe asked.

"I was thinking Blue, cos of her eyes." Jason said.

"Violet" Brianna said looking at her.

"Violet?" Tye questioned.

"Violet, I like it." Jason said.

"Me two. Now Bri, put her down, let her walk around a little." Chloe said to Bri who was completely surpassed by her cuteness.

 **Chapter Twenty**

The next two nights were hard on Jason and Brianna, when they soon learnt that adjusting to living with Violet wasn't going to be such an easy task, she was quite energetic and always looked for their attention by howling or barking all the time, she refused sleeping in her dog bed at night and always placed herself between them in bed, in order to take a long stretch at night.

Monday Brianna missed going to class to find a dog day care center where she could have Violet trained and looked after for the rest of the week, while she was at college and Jason was at work. On her way to the center, while inside a taxi, she rode past the bar and grill and noticed that the glass door had already been fixed and everything seemed to be back normal from the way things looked from the outside.

She turned her attention to Violet when she felt her licking her fingers and smiled at her, thanking her from the inside for taking her mind of bad memories. Once at the center, Brianna was showed around and was shown all the facilities they had for puppies and adult dogs. When the tour was don, she signed Violet onto the center, paid a fee for the month, then left her there to go straight back at home to try and find another job online,.

"Thanks for the car dad." Jason handed over the keys to his father once Mike and Kathy where safely delivery at their apartment.

"Thanks for getting us from the airport." Mike thanked Jason.

"Brianna's probably worried about me by now, I better go." Jason said.

"Have you called a cab?" Mike asked him.

"Yea, they probably downstairs by now." Jason said.

"Take care of yourself, okay." Mike gave him a tight hug.

"Will do, Bye Kathy." Jason gave her a swift hug

"Bye Jason. I hope to have you and Brianna here again sometime."

"Sure." He smiled then they let him go.

When Jason got to the ground floor and the elevator doors opened.

He found himself looking straight at Len's beaten up and bruised face. Len was standing next to an old woman, who one could tell was his mother from the way she was caring for him when they were about to step into the elevator. Len stared at Jason in dismay for a moment, when he noticed Jason glaring at him, looking as though he would attempt on continuing with what he had started a few nights ago.

Jason clichéd his fists, hardened his jaw, composed himself and walked pasted him, leaving Len behind breathing a little easier.

"Honey, I'm home." Jason announced when he got home being firstly greeted by Violet, and when Brianna heard him, she dashed out of the kitchen to greet him by the door with a smooch kiss on the mouth.

As she moved away, he pulled her in, gently closer to him by waist, placed his hands on either side of her face and gave her a deeper kiss, taking her by delightful surprise.

"I've missed you." He told after the kiss.

"I can tell."

"We should probably get to bed a little early tonight." Jason brushed a thump across her bottom lip while he still held her face.

"You're in the mood for love?" Brianna stared at him.

"I'm in the mood for you." he began kissing her profoundly once more.

"Let's get dinner out the way first." Brianna said to him afterwards feeling aroused by his advances.

After having dinner, Brianna sorted out the dishes while Jason feed Violet some food and milk.

After that, he walked up to Brianna at the tap, washed his hands, then scooped her off her feet swiftly and carried her to their bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

He gently laid her on the bed and began to unbutton his shirt he wore for work that day, while Brianna watched attentively, appreciating the view.

Once his shirt was off, he carried on removing his shoes, socks, belt and then his pants and then moved on to position himself between her legs, bare naked.

Brianna wasn't wearing much that evening at home besides, having on one of his T-shirts with a lace boy shorts underneath.

He began his seduction kissing her mouth deep and profoundly caressing her sides, right down her body, to her legs while she grasped his hair gently throughout the kiss.

He paused from kissing her mouth to move down to kiss her breasts, her lower mid body, till he reached her groin area, then moved back up gradually to kiss her mouth avidly once more, moments later he gave her light kisses all around on her neck as one of his hands travelled down their bodies, past the waist band of her lace boy shorts, so his fingers could fondle with her clitoris.

Brianna laid underneath him, breathing rapidly aroused as they both stared at each other responsively, whilst she flexed her hips pleasurably in response to his deep and lingering penetrations that came from his two fingers that found their way inside her vaginal opening.

Jason watched her orgasm a couple of times, and watched as she mourned, closing her eyes, then obey her command when she tugged at his hair and encouraged him to moved down to kiss her hard.

When he felt she was ready for him, he moved down, removed her lace boy shorts easily then proceeded to positioning her legs to allow himself access to her, pausing half way when he saw her close her legs to him with a naughty look on her face, biting her lip in the process as she laid staring at him.

"What's on your mind?" Jason asked her inquisitively gazing at her, delicately touching her legs, moving up to her hips and gently squeezing her sides.

"I want to try something." She moved up to him, kissed him tenderly, then swayed him to lay on the bed.

She ran her hands down his firm body, all the down to his aroused sex, she reached for his length, stroked it while he watched, then lowered to try and give him a fellatio experience.

Jason welcomed her intentions towards wanting to give him pleasure in exchange to him giving some to her earlier, but stilled her and brought her back up to look at him.

He progressed to taking off the rest of the clothes she wore, pulled her closer to him by embracing, holding her by her small waist, laid her back gently on top of the bed and eased into her, thrusting gradually.

Whenever they've look up at each other in that the duration of their devoted love making, they'd moan and kiss fervently to bring themselves to their highest sexual ridge.

The two lingered on for quite some time in the same position up until Jason changed positions, when he swayed Brianna onto her tummy and took charge by positioning her hands in front of her as he trailed his hands down her back to her butt.

She felt him hand brush her hair aside to give him access to her neck and shoulder.

He kissed her neck lightly then lowered himself inside her gently from behind and kissed her when she turned her head in the direction of his mouth as he began to flex his hips, thrusting slowly at first then gradually increased his speed as she demanded more from him.

"I love you so much." he puffed in her ear whilst moving on top of her.

"I love you too." she responded back to him.

"You're mine, you're mine, you're mine." He kept saying the same words to her until he climaxed then turned over to his back to lie next to her to catch his breath.

"You okay?" Brianna asked him after he seemed more laid back on the bed.

"I'm fine, why do ask? Was I a bit too rough on you?" Jason seemed concerned turning to face her, on his side and began stroking her shoulders and back, making swirl patterns with his soft gentle fingers with one hand while rest his head on the other.

"No, you always sweet, gentle and caring with me." she grinned at him.

"Then why you asking me, if I'm okay?"

"The words you kept saying towards the end."

"You're mine?"

"Yes, I've haven't heard you say those words before when we've made love."

"I kept saying it because I wanted you to feel me when I said it, because that's what I want you to keep locked in your head, for always and forever." he kissed her tenderly.

As the weeks progressed, Brianna's bruised faded, and soon she, Jason and Violet got used to a new routine they had all put into action. Brianna went back to classes from Tuesday morning after she dropped Violet off at the dog day care center while Jason went to work using public transportation once again.

After college Brianna decided to go to the hospital to find out how her little nephew was doing and also to find out about his discharge date.

When she got to the hospital she had to explain to Lucinda everything about the bruise on her face after she had asked her.

When she got home, after the hospital visit and the dog day care center, she set up the apartment laptop and began looking for a new job till she heard Jason's keys by the door.

"Hey Bri." Jason said getting into the apartment with some takeout pizza.

"Hey, you got us food." she greeted him with a kiss then helped him with the pizza box, allowing him to make himself feel more right at home.

"What you doing on the laptop?" Jason asked placing his light jacket on the coat hanger when he noticed the laptop open and running on the dining room table.

"I'm looking for a new job."

"Really. What kind of job? Because as far as I can remember, we haven't discussed anything regarding that." Jason creased his brow.

"I know we haven't but I need to find something soon." Brianna took the pizza into the kitchen to serve and Jason followed picking up Violet and greeting her.

"Bri, the only jobs you going to get with having to go to classes in the mornings, are night jobs. And I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not going to let you go back to doing night jobs." Jason put Violet down on the kitchen floor.

"Jason, we've got bills to pay at the end of every month, not to mention, that I've also got a student loan that I still need to pay. I need to find some sort of income; I can't just leave everything for you to take care of." Brianna told him.

"I understand what you saying okay, but just let me take care of things for a while. Focus on getting good results at college for now, I'll help pay for your loan."

"Jason, you've just given a whole lot of money to help Tye, with the situation his put himself in. I honestly can't let you stretch yourself thin by taking liability over everything." Brianna said to him.

"Bri, just trust me, I can do it. I can take care of us." He assured her, "Plus, I like coming home and seeing you here these days, it gives me piece of mind." He said beaming while standing next to her.

"Fine, I'll focus on college." Brianna settled with him "But, only till the period of the rental paid in advance is over, then I'll start looking for something."

"That's fine with me." he agreed then grabbed some pizza.

Once they both had enough to eat, Brianna packed away the left over pizza.

Jason grabbed himself a glass of water and watched her from where he stood, in front of the sink.

"What you look at?"

"Your butt, in those pants" Jason said looking at the light pink yoga pants Brianna wore then glanced at her and asked, "Have you showered yet?" he asked placing the glass in the basin behind him before he slowly paced steps to meet her by the fridge, to touch and caress her face.

"I haven't, and I don't really feel like a shower tonight." Brianna said staring up at Jason who looked at her slightly dissatisfied with her response at first, then smile when she said "but a light bubble bath, ah, now that sounds much better."

"okey, I'll go run the tub and then you can meet me there." Jason gave her a sweet kiss then proceeded to running a light bubble bath for them.

When Brianna was done feeding Violet, she turned off the laptop, got undressed in the bedroom, then moved on to meet Jason in the bathroom.

When she opened the door, she noticed that Jason took the extra effort in making the setting around them even more tranquil by lighting some scented candles, used to decorate the bathroom.

"I hope you don't mind me using them." He said to her.

"Not at all."

"Let me get that for you." he said reaching for her towel, to unwrap from her body, and letting it fall to the floor.

He stepped into the bath first, then extended a hand to her so she could join him.

Once they both were inside the tub, he admired her naked body for an instant by brushed his fingers down the side of her body then up again till he reached her face and held it, then drew her closer to him for a slow passionate kiss.

He then span her around, so her back was facing him, trailed light kisses down her back whilst lowering his body into the warm water then motioned her to follow suit.

Brianna laidback to rest on Jason's chest and made herself comfortable between his legs.

"You comfy?" Jason asked wrapping his arms her body.

"Yeah." she replied, exhaling calmly.

"I must say, taking a bubble bath, like this, with you, feels like the perfect way to end an evening." Jason said after getting a hold of the natural bath sponge, dipping it into the bath water and squeezing the water out of it on Brianna's chest in front of him.

"Really." she turned to face him in the bath; "I thought the perfect way of ending an evening would consist of something more, in the lines of me doing something like this." she moved closer to him and planted a long and wet kiss to his mouth.

"That's too is a perfect way of ending an evening, but our tub unfortunately doesn't provide us with enough room to continue that something you want to start." He said gazing at her.

"How about, we start something here and then, end that something, somewhere else." she said.

"Sounds like another great idea to me" He beamed at her, and then drew her mouth to kiss his once again, but this time, deeper.

Next she lowered a hand beneath her, reached for him and began to gently fondle with his sex till he reached his full span. Following her pursuit, in bringing him to his responsive and stimulated mind, Jason thought he'd return the act of pleasure to Brianna when he raised his body up from the tub and kneeled in front of her.

Brianna followed suit by mirroring him, Jason then closed the gap between them when he began by softly kissing her mouth, her neck, her shoulders sweetly before effortlessly moving down her chest to draw and fully suck on each of her areolas as she too reached for his length and continued to tease him.

"You're so perfect." Jason whispered to her and went back to kissing her mouth devotedly.

"Even in this position?" she turned around and bent over, to give Jason a full view of her flawless back and butt.

Upholding her upper body above water, by holding the sides of the tub, she turned slightly back to look at Jason, who still remained, kneeling behind her, staring in utmost awe at her in a darker gazed.

"I thought you said you wanted to end that something we've started, somewhere else." He said caressing the top of her back, her butt and finally the side of her hips with both his warm wet hands.

"I guess I'd like it here better." she told him as he drew in a deep breath, leaned his body closer to hers and grabbed her both breasts in his hands, gently clutching them.

Jason then moved his hands beneath her and stimulated her clitoris for a while as she bought her mouth to meet his.

After a while he put her back into the initial bent over position she was in, then reached for his length and entered her easily from behind.

He began thrusting her slowly, with one hand placed on her shoulder and the other on her upper hip bone, drawing her body back and forth to him.

She mourned under his command as he gradually increased the tempo of his thrusting and she felt him go deeper inside her, and she felt all her muscles clench enjoyably underneath her, graciously welcoming and giving herself entirely to a world of limitless orgasms with letting out satisfying moans.

In the long run of exchangeable pleasure, Jason ultimately reached his peak and emptied himself inside Brianna when her aroused moans and body set him off the edge of no return.

She turned to kiss him once they ended having wet sex and then washed each other off before they headed off to bed.

Saturday morning, Brianna was out of bed before Jason, when she felt her panties damp.

She got up from the vigilant of Jason and went rushed to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her quietly.

Next, she sat on the toilet to empty her full bladder and as peed, she noticed that the dampness on her panties weren't coming from a full bladder, but from the beginning of her menstrual cycle.

She took a quick shower, walked back into the bedroom quietly to get some necessities then moved back to the bathroom to get dress.

When she was done, she and Violet moved on to the kitchen where she feed her some dog food and milk and then she got started on breakfast.

"Morning." Jason said coming up from behind, to give her a morning hug while she made some omelets over the stove.

"Morning. Did you sleep okay?" she asked grinning over stove, when he dug his nose on her shoulders and breathed her scent in.

"I did, and you've showered." he said.

"I had too, coz an uninvited guest has come to hang around for a few days." she told him.

"It's that time of the month?" he said displeased.

"Yep." Brianna said moving the pan out of the hot plate and turning off the stove.

"How long's your stretch for?" he asked moving back to give her some room to plate up breakfast.

"Ten days." she said.

"Ten day!" he repeated after her, somewhat stunned, and she laughed at the look on his face.

"I'm just kidding, my stretch only last for four, maybe five days."

"That sounds better." He breathed a little easier.

"Here, let's have breakfast, cos we need to get moving this morning too." Brianna said handing Jason a plate of food.

Later that morning, after dropping Violet off at the dog daycare center with the help of Chloe. Jason, Chloe and Brianna went straight to the house in West Garfield Park to decorate the surprise baby shower and home welcoming for little LeBron, who had been given the green light to leave the hospital.

Paige had given the signal for the preparations to begin, when she texted Brianna to let her know when to come over after Tye and Lucinda had both left.

"Hi Mama." Brianna gave her mother a warm hug and kiss on the cheeks when she saw her.

"Hi sweetie pie, it's really good to see you." she said caressing her face.

"It's really good to see you too. How things around here?" Brianna asked.

"I've been spending most of time at the hospital with LeBron and at the church praying for him, so I can't really tell you a lot, except for the fact that I'm really happy his finally coming home."

"I can't wait to see him, and hold him for the first time. I'm probably going to start spending a lot of time here." Brianna said.

"Nothing wrong with that, except, Jason will be missing you terribly." Paige said to her.

"You know, you're moms got a point." Jason agreed.

"And how are you doing Jason?"

"I'm fine thank you." he smiled and moved on to put some of the decorative bags into the sitting area.

"Chloe, it's really good to see you too." Paige greeted her as her carried a box with a cake.

"Hi Ms. Johnson. I know it's been a while, but here I am." She greeted her back politely before they both went inside to start on the decoration with Brianna and Jason.

Tye and Lucinda arrived home with little LeBron at 2pm and where pleased to be greeted by family and friends, who came through to show their support and brought gifts for both mother and baby.

As the afternoon progressed, the women stayed inside the house talking and admiring LeBron while the man stood outside BBQ'in' some steaks, chicken and sausages, accompanied with a good conversation on women, basketball, fatherhood and some beers.

That same afternoon, Chloe got a phone call from Tyrel asking her if she knew where Tye Johnson was.

"His at home, same place I'm at." she told him.

"What you doing at his place?" He asked wanting to know.

"I'm here chilling with the family."

"Oh, listen; please can you pass him a message from me."

"Tyrel, if you want to talk to him, come over here and do so." Chloe said.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Just because!"

"Because of what?"

"I can't be seen hanging around with him."

"You won't be, if you park your car around the corner and come in, plus I'm here too remember."

"I don't know Chloe; it's not a good idea."

"Even to come and see me?"

"Alright, I'll be there in 10, but I won't stay for long."

"Okay." Chloe sounded satisfied.

Moments later Tyrel was at the door looking around nervously to see if anyone he knew was watching him, Chloe opened the door seconds later and let him in.

She brought him into the sitting area where all the women were and introduced him to everyone as her boyfriend then moved on to get him a beer in the kitchen.

"Tye's outside with the other guys." she handed him a beer smiling with a peck on the cheek.

"You really want me to mix with the rest of the fellas, don't ya?"

"Ju-uust a little." she said bringing her index finger and thumb together to show an ounce of how of how much effort she wanted him to make.

"I'll try, for a kiss." he licked his bottom lip.

"Sure." she said wrapping her arms around his neck and then kissed him passionately.

"Ahem" Brianna cleared her throat when she got to the kitchen to alert Chloe and Tyrel of her and her twin cousin's presence.

"Sorry guys." Chloe said breaking away from Tyrel.

"Ah. I'm goin' outside." Tyrel excused himself.

"Let's set the side dishes on the table then, shall we." Brianna said retrieving one of many side bowl dished from the kitchen counter.

"Yeah." Chloe agreed.

The men were almost done BBQin' outside when Tyrel joined them. Tye and the rest of the fellas were quite surprised to see approaching them.

"Hi fellas." Tyrel greeted everyone trying to blend in.

"Hey man, good to see you." Jason said extending a hand first to greet him, and then everyone else followed making the hesitant atmosphere evaporate. And in no time, Tyrel felt right into the family unit.

The social gathering ended around 8pm that evening, after everyone helped out with the cleaning-up.

And whilst everyone said their last goodbye and wished little LeBron well, Tyrel called Tye aside to have a word with him, out by the back lawn in private.

"Look man. Uncle J's find out that I gave you his digits." Tyrel said to Tye.

"How?"

"I don't know, I guess there's always eyes watchin'. He got ticked off by it, so as a way to get right with him, his sent me to ask you bout you're plans on paying up the rest of the money you still owe him." Tyrel said to him.

"He wants all of it? When? " Tye grew concerned.

"Before Monday."

Tye ran his hand through his hair in anxiety, "Tyrel, you need to tell him to give me some more time man. I've already given him half the money a week or two ago"

"Tye, I can't go back empty handed man; you got to give me something to work with."

"I only got $2000 saved up."

"I try my hardest to buy you some time Tye. But I can't guarantee he'll stay put."

"Alright, I'll meet you up front with the cash." Tye told him before heading upstairs to his room to get some of the money he had been saving.

After leaving the house in West Garfield Park, Jason asked Tye if he could take the car for the night so he and Brianna could go get Violet at the 24 hour dog day care center and Tye gave him the go ahead.

After picking up Violet, Jason and Brianna got to the apartment feeling tired out from the events of the day.

They made sure Violet was happy with food and water, before they both changed into their sleepwear, got into bed, cuddling each other.

Sunday morning, Jason was up before Brianna. When she got out of bed, she went searching for him.

She smiled blissfully when she saw the dining room table, fully presented with a breakfast fit for a Queen, which had everything starting from a fruits salad, muffins, juice, tea, croissants, cheese, ham, yoghurt, milk, honey, muesli and cereal.

"Good Morning." Jason greeted her.

"What's all this?"

"Please take a seat and enjoy." He pulled a chair for her.

"Thank you." she took a seat, "Where has all this food come from?" she asked.

"Let's just say, it helps having a car in the morning." Jason said joining to sit with her on the table.

"For one second there, I thought it was my birthday." she said.

"I think for you birthday, you deserve better."

"Better, like what exactly." she said reaching for some fruit salad.

"You trying to pick my mind, aren't you." he said.

"Just a little." she grinned at him.

After breakfast, they both cleared the table and then Jason went to shower before Brianna.

When they both were dressed, Jason suggested that they'd both take Violet for a walk and Brianna thought it was a great idea. When they got back from the walk, Brianna panicked when she looked at her calendar diary and realized that she still needed to conclude one of her a financial management assignments that needed to be submitted online before Monday afternoon.

And so she spent most of the day completing her college work whilst Jason went out to get some Chinese take-out for lunch and early dinner.

5:30pm was the time Brianna finalized and submitted everything and after she was done, she felt her brain was worn-out from calculationing number and defining terms, and all she wanted to do afterwards, was lay back and relax with Jason on the couch. And that's exactly what she did, when she placed her head on his chest to relax and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Later she struggled to keep her eyes open, when Jason tried to tell her something and all she managed to do was, mumble back to agree with whatever he was saying, which was that he was heading to the house in West Garfield to give the car back to Tye.

He left her sleeping and told Violet to look after her before he placed a kiss on her temple, covered her with a throw on the couch and then left the apartment.

As Jason approached the house, he noticed Tyrel's car driving behind him, but struggled to make out if it was him driving.

He continued on and made his way towards the house and decided he'd walk out and talk to him when he'd stop the car. When he got to the house, he parked the car up front, turned off the ignition and as he was about to open the door, he caught the sight of the white Chrysler picking up speed, and as it came past his car, multiple gun shots began to fly out of the front passenger window and onto the side of the car he was in, whilst he tried to take cover.

Tye heard the shots and jumped up, he ran outside to see what was going on and caught a glimpse of the white Chrysler speeding off down the road before he ran up to see in Jason had been hurt.

When he reached the driver side of the car, he found Jason dragging himself out the car with his light blue shirt stained with blood.

"No,no,no,no,no,no!" Tye said grabbing Jason before her could hit the ground.

"MAMA, CALL 911! JASON'S BEEN HIT, CALL 911" Tye called to her taking off his jacket to support Jason's head on the ground.

"I'm–so-so co-ld." Jason said struggling to speak.

"Everything's going to be okay, just hang in there for man" Tye said looking down at him.

Once Paige had secured and ambulance, she ran out the house with her first aid kit to see what she could to do to keep Jason's injuries at bay, when she got to him, she noticed that he was hyperventilating as he rested on Tye's lap.

"Tye, we need to add pressure on those wounds." Paige said try to keep herself composed whilst taking out some bandages to cover the three shots wounds on the left side of Jason's upper body.

"Tye." Jason swallowed hard, "If-If-I d-don't m-make it, p-promise m-me y-y-you'll t-tell-Bri-that I–I-love h-her an-and I-I'm so-sorry. T-tell h-her t-to m-mov o-on." Jason started crying whilst Paige and Tye added pressure to his wounds.

"Just hang in there Jason, the ambulance will be here any minute now." Paige said to him.

"Sweet Lord, please help him." Paige prayed just before the sirens were heard racing toward them.

The neighbours soon, all started coming out of their houses to have a look on what was going on when the paramedics jumped out to attend to the emergency asking Tye and Paige to give them some space.

The paramedics cut open all of Jason's clothes so they had a chance to have a closer look at Jason's wounds they saw that three bullets had entered his body.

One went through his chest cavity, the other on his lower abdomen and the last one on his femur.

They acted quickly in lifting his body from the ground and putting on him on the stretcher with an IV line, but before he could be put into the ambulance to be transported to the ER, his body began to drift into a blackout zone.

"We're losing him, he needs the shot right now" said one of the medics on scene.

"I got it" the other medic gave Jason an adrenaline shot to keep him awake.

"Stay with us, we almost there" Jason opened his eyes just as soon as her felt the medication's take affect.

Tye got into the ambulance to ride with Jason to the hospital, whilst Paige ran back inside to call Chloe, who then called Mike to let him know that Jason was on his way to the ER.

When Brianna woke from her sleep, she felt sick and ran straight to the toilet to throw up, she washed her mouth in the sink, then returned to the lounge to check on the time.

"7pm" she said to Violet. "I wonder what time Jason left here?" she questioned herself, then jumped up in a fright when she heard a knock on the door.

She walked to the door, opened it and stood behind it with a perplexed look on her face, when she saw Chloe, Mike and Kathy all standing there staring at her, trying to figure out if she knew what was going on.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked surprised.

"Oh sweetie, you obviously don't know what's going on." Kathy said to her.

"Chloe?" Brianna looked at her alarmed by the fact that she started tearing up.

"Brianna, grab what came, you need to come with us." Mike told her sounding troubled.

"Chloe, please tell me what's going on?" Brianna asked.

"It's Jason, his on his way to the ER in an ambulance, you need to hurry." Chloe told her and she grabbed her bag from the apartment and left with them.

Inside the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Tye held Jason's right hand all the way through as he kept his eyes on him.

When the ambulance stopped, Jason was rushed to surgery and Tye was told to wait for him in the waiting area of the hospital.

Jason remained stable, as he was put under anaesthetic, he got to the operating room, and the doctors managed to remove all the bullets inside of him.

When he was rolled out of the surgery and into recovery, his physical being when into shock.

The doctors did all they could, but he slipped into a coma.

When Brianna, Chloe, Mike and Kathy met up with Tye in the waiting area, they all looked at the blood stains on his lime green shirt in disbelief.

"Where is he?" Brianna asked Tye desperately and uncontrollably shedding out tears.

"In surgery." Tye said looking like a totally mess of emotions.

"What exactly happened?" Mike asked wanting to know.

"He texted me to let me know, he was bringing the car out...I was sitting waiting on him, when I heard gun shots going off. I ran out as fast as I could." Tye shook his head in tears "I didn't think it would be him, getting shot at."

"Jesus!" Mike put his hand over his mouth.

"Did you see who was responsible?" Brianna asked.

"The last car I saw driving down the street was a white, pimped out, Chrysler." Tye said looking up at Chloe.

"It couldn't have been him." Chloe said in horror.

Just then, the doctor taking care of Jason, walked out to meet with everyone in the waiting area.

"How is he doc?" Mike asked in anticipation.

"I'm afraid I don't have any good news tonight." the doctor said looking at all their faces in remorse.

"No, please God, no." Brianna said shaking with a sunken heart.

"We've managed to retrieve all the bullets from his body, he should heal. The bad news is that, his slipped into a coma, and has been put onto life support, his body gone through several chokes."

"It there a change of him waking up?" Tye asked.

"We can't really say, but miracles can happen." the doctor said.

"Thank you for coming through to speak with us." Mike said and let the doctor go.

"This is all your fault!" Brianna said becoming unemotional towards the devastated Tye, "it should've been you!" she said walking up to him, then stared thumping at this chest constantly as she kept saying the same words again, again and again until she started slapping, beating and scratching him all over in utmost anger and frustration whilst screaming and yelling over him when they both plummeted to the floor agonizingly mourning.

"Bri, please stop." Tye said in tears, unable to push her off him.

"I HATE YOU, I H‑!" before she could finish her sentence she received an unforeseen shot of haloperidol on her neck, which sent her into slumber, after Kathy asked one of the nurses to calm her down when no one succeeded in yanking her off Tye after becoming aware of the markings nicks in his arms she put there using her nails.

When Brianna opened her eyes, she found herself in a hospital bed with Chloe and Paige standing nearby staring down at her. Feeling and looking sedated by the shot given to her earlier that evening.

"Mama." Brianna said.

"I'm here sweetie." Paige caressed her hair.

"I want to see him." Brianna managed to say.

"Just try and get as much rest as you can tonight." Paige said to her.

"I want to see Jason." Brianna said slowly.

"You can't sweetie, not until you've rested." Paige told to her and she started crying faintly.

"I'll take you home, and stay with you tonight." Chloe said to her sobbing.

"Me too." Paige said.

"I can't go back to the apartment tonight, when his." Brianna paused.

"It's okay, you can come and stay over at my place, for as long as you need to." Chloe said holding her hand.

"Thanks Chloe." Brianna tightened her grip.

"Mama, it hurts so bad." Brianna said crumbling inside once more as to Paige and Chloe moved in to give her a tight embrace.

"I know sweetheart, I know." Paige said.

For the next six weeks, Brianna stopped going to college and stayed day and night by Jason's bed side, with his condition remaining the same, stable but non responsive.

Brianna was staying at Chloe's apartment, holding onto the fear of not knowing how she'd react, going back an empty apartment.

Paige and Lucinda, took matters into their own hands, and adopted Violet for the time being, while Chloe went to check on the apartment once a week and brought some clothing items for Brianna, back to her apartment.

Brianna's new lease in life, was to spend as much time as possible, by Jason's side.

She wanted to be the first face, he'd see when he woke up.

Every morning when Chloe would come and relief her for an hour, she'd go home, freshen up and come back to his side.

She'd volunteer with the sponge baths and would groom him day and night.

She played music for him during the day, through her iPod, songs that she knew he'd like, and would talk to him about anything that came to mind.

Every morning doctors would come and run a few vital checks on Jason, and they would give her feedback, which she then shared with everyone else.

The doctors had tried for countless time to get Jason to breath on his own, but failed every single time.

A very important medical examination soon had to be conducted, to see Jason's brain activity.

Brianna, Chloe, Mike and Paige were all at the hospital anxiously awaiting the outcome, while Tye waited in the car, because Brianna couldn't stand the sight of him and had developed a heavy grudge towards the whole outcome of his bad decisions.

After a gruesome two hours of waiting, the doctor came up to talk to them in the family waiting area.

"We have the results. And they're not good" He said simply. Brianna started tearing up.

"Jason's brain activity is at the lowest when compared to the average person or child." they doctor continued.

"What happens now?" Chloe asked.

"I'm afraid the correct term to say, so you will all understand is. Jason is brain dead. His never going to wake up. I'm afraid the decision to switch off the life support, has to be taken into consideration."

"You mean, to let him go?" Mike asked.

The doctor replied nodding his head affirmatively to Mike.

"I can't do this." Brianna said stepping out of the room and Chloe followed her.

"Bri." Chloe called out to her when they reached the corridor.

"I can't Chloe." she said and took off running to the nearest exit.

When she reached outside, it was pouring with rain and she continued to ran, past the parking lot and onto the open road. She stood looking up to the heavy gray clouds and began to cry out for Jason to come back to her.

A car with its headlights on, was driving towards her, hooting and struggling to stop, alerting her to move out the way, but Brianna chose to ignore and face it head on, when Tye reached for her and pulled her out of the way and into his arms.

"Why did you do that?" she said in raged, banging his chest, pushing him away from her.

"What do you think your doin'?" He asked in the pouring rain.

"I'm trying to get to Jason. His gone Tye, his left us" Brianna began to cry and kneeled onto the walk way.

"Bri, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry" Tye said crying and lowered himself down to put his arms around her.

"Don't touch me!" Brianna refused his comforting embrace then got up, "I hate you for taking him away from me. I wish it was you, not him." she said and walked to Chloe who was standing by the parking lot, desperately looking for her, under an umbrella.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay" Chloe said bringing her under the umbrella then the two walked back inside the hospital.

The decision to switch off the life support had to be made, and Mike had to be the one that to make that decision, since Brianna wasn't at the legal age, to authorise anything on behalf of her husband.

Before Mike signed the paperwork work, he took some time to speak to Brianna in private about his decision, at the hospital's chapel.

"Brianna, I know you're hurting, just as much as I am. Jason meant a lot to us both, and we're all going to miss him." Mike said wearingly and Brianna listened on, looking straight ahead, shedding uncontrollable tears, "The decision I have to make today, is the hardest decision any parent or person ever has to make in their entire existence. It's never easy to let go of someone you love, especially in these circumstances, where you didn't even get a chance to tell them you love them for the last time, while they were still able to acknowledge you." He continued.

"Jason is still in there somewhere, I know it." She shifted in her chair and looked at Mike with redden and swollen eyes.

"His brain dead, his not coming back."

"Please don't sign those papers Mike, try and buy some more time." Brianna said to him.

"If I don't sign them, the hospital will alert the authorities and then they'll be an investigation and some more tests done on him, before they decide to switch off that machine that's keeping him here. I've already begged them to keep him going for the past few weeks without you knowing. If my son is dead, I want to be the one who sends him off. I want to say my last prayers and goodbye's to him." Mike held Brianna's hand, "His gone and we need to be strong for each other." he swallowed hard, began to cry and kissed her hand.

The two hugged each other, then said a prayer for Jason.

The next day Brianna found herself standing beside Jason's open wooden casket, in a dark enclosed room which only had one ceiling light that shone on his face.

She stared at his face for as long as she needed to, after she was given some privacy and time alone with him to say her last goodbyes before his cremation.

Tears constantly poured from her puffy eyes and onto the full length black long sleeve dress she wore as she, touched his ice cold face and caressed his lightly brown hair.

"You look so peaceful" she said to him, "I don't know what I going to do with myself after today" she struggled to take a breath in for a moment before she continued.

Her body began shaking when she leaned down to place one last kiss onto his cold lips, "I love you so much. I wish I didn't have to be the one standing here, looking down at you like this. I wish we could change places , because—this pain I'm feeling right now, is just too much." she said touching his hands, "I hope..." she wiped her tears from her face, "...I hope you hearing me wherever you are right now, and I hope you waiting for me too. Now I know, that during our vows we've said till death do us part, but you've were taken away from me, way to soon. I don't know how I'm going to get through the next few days without you by my side. I promise, I'm going to cherish you for as long as I'm here with the everlasting hope, of being with you soon." she kissed his temple before she stood up straight over him, took a deep breath and walk out the room.

That same afternoon, Jason's body was cremated and his ashes were put at on a cremation niche, then onto a memorial wall by Brianna, Mike, Chloe, Paige, Tye, Lucinda and Aunt Martha, who arrived early that morning after receiving the devastating news.

A memorial service was held at the same church Brianna and Jason got married in, with the blessing of Pastor Marcus.

All the people that attended their wedding, where present at the memorial that day to pay their respects.

Mike went up first to say a few words about his son that morning, then Paige followed, then Tye said a few words before Chloe stepped up to the podium to speak on behalf of her and Brianna who seat in front row with Aunt Martha, looking straight ahead completely frozen in time, showing no exact mood, reaction or response to the events procedures that were taking place around her.

Her face looked pale, her eyes were drained and she looked dehydrated in general, from not having to eat or drink, since she left the hospital the night Jason was taken out of life support.

Chloe helped her get dressed that morning and did her hair, so she could look presentable for the service.

At the altar, was a large picture of Jason smiling brightly and the church was decorated with beautiful flowers.

Pastor Marcus provided the service at the church, with the help of his wife Wendy and other church members who knew Brianna's family.

"My brother was one of a kind. My brother has and will always be mine. My brother always made me smile. My brother never went out of style." Chloe paused to compose herself, wiping away tears from her eyes, "My brother was like no other, and there will never be another like him in my eyes, nor in Brianna's or the eyes of all those who knew him for his generous heart, his sweet smile and his charming good-looks" she grinned slightly looking at his picture at the altar, "But, we all are mostly going to miss his presences as a whole. I'm hurt, but at the same time I take refuse in knowing that his with my mother now. I've prepared a little something in his memory, to celebrate and remember the good times his spent with us on earth. I love you Jason." Chloe gave the signal to the church sound technicians to play her slide show, then walked back to take her sit next to Brianna, embracing her and providing her closure.

The sound titled 'Yesterday' originally sang by Boyz to Men, began to play and one of the church youth choir girls came up and began to sing.

Brianna eyes and head lifted up, towards the projecting screen to view the picture slides and soon more tears continued to pour from her eyes, as she sat in complete stillness.

Once the service was over, all those who attended the service, were told to go over to the Johnson's house for the wakening.

Chloe stayed close to Brianna when Pastor Marcus asked to say a prayer for her once they church hall was empty, after the prayer was said the two turned to walk out, accompanied by Pastor Marcus, when suddenly Chloe paused, after noticing Tyrel standing by the church door looking straight at all of them.

"Pastor Marcus, please stay here with Brianna. I'll be right back." she walked to meet up with him. "What the hell are you doing here? As if killing my own flesh and blood isn't enough for you, you've come here to take someone else's life, huh!" Chloe slapped him.

"Chloe listen, I didn't kill anybody." Tyrel told her.

"You lying son of a bitch!" she slapped him again.

"I didn't kill Jason, I swear on my brother's grave!"

"Your car was last seen driving off after the shots were fired, the shots came from your car, Tyrel." she said grinding her teeth at him with her index finger poking hard on his chest.

"Chloe, it wasn't me." he refused to admit to a crime he didn't execute.

"But you know who did it."

"After that, get together at the house a few weeks ago. I went straight to Uncle J to give him some money that Tye still owed him. Tye asked me to buy him some time, so he could get the rest of the money together to pay him back, and that's what I did. Uncle J, decided to take the car keys away from me and did shit behind my back. He called some other boys to do his dirty work, he wanted Tye, not Jason. He gave them was a picture of the car, and the house address. I swear to God, I had nothing to do with it." Tyrel began to cry.

"Whether or not you had nothing to do with it. Your blood has killed one of my own. I never ever, want to see your face again. I hope you and your uncle burn in hell for what you've done, and tell him that from me." she turned her back and walked away from him.

"Chloe, please. I love you." Tyrel said to her.

"TAKE, that love you feel for me and disappear out my life. Leave me the fuck, alone!" she told him off.

For the next two days, Brianna still found herself residing at Chloe's apartment with her roomie, when she still couldn't find the courage nor the strong will power to go back to her apartment.

Chloe took it upon herself to take care of her best friend's wellbeing after she saw her fall into a deep depression, when she watched Brianna live, day in and day out curled up in her bed, with the curtains shut, watching the slideshow Chloe had presented in Jason's memorial service again and again, never getting tired of it.

During her grieving state, Brianna kept refusing to eat any sort of food that Chloe provided.

It had even become a struggle to get her to drinking some sugary drinks, the only liquid Brianna took down was the water that Chloe gave her with some sleeping tablets which she kept safely locked away from her, after she found Brianna holding and staring down at a knife in the kitchen the night before, after she had go into the bedroom to get the meds she needed.

"Hi Ms. Johnson." Chloe said answering Brianna's cell phone and walking out the bedroom.

"How is she?" Paige called to check up on Brianna, after being there to see her over the previous nights.

"She's taking the meds Kathy's given to help her sleep, but she's still not talking much. I'm really trying my hardest to get her to eat something, but she just refuses to do that. She hadn't said a word to me, today; she just sits there, looking at those slides, all day long. I don't know what else to do."

"Just keep doing what you doing, just keep being strong for her. I'll come over tonight and see if I can get her to eat."

"Okay, I'll we'll stay and wait for you. How's Tye doing over there?" Chloe sighed deeply.

"I'm trying to hold him up here too. His been crying at every corner of the house his found, and has been blaming himself for everything that's happened, his been wanting to see Brianna, but I've been buying some time. She's not ready to see him."

"I don't think so either. It's up to us to keep the two sane."

"Yeah, I guess so." Paige agreed.

When Monday arrived, Chloe got dressed and ready to go to beauty school, she walked into her bedroom, got her bag and said her goodbyes to Brianna.

"If you need anything, just call or text me, okay?" Chloe told her and Brianna nodded in silence, seated on the bed, staring at the shut bedroom curtains, embracing herself.

"Chloe." Brianna called her name just before she exited the room.

"Yes." she walked to her side.

"I just remembered something." Brianna said gently.

"What is it?"

"Violet." she turned and looked at Chloe.

"Violet?"

"She's the only living memory Jason's left for me. I need to go get her, she's probably so afraid and hungry, I can't let her die." Brianna got up from the bed. "Please can you drop me back at my apartment so I can see if she's okay?"

"Bri, Violet's at your mom's house."

"Oh. Could you take me back to my apartment then?"

"Are you sure you ready to go there?"

"I'll be fine. Just drop me off there on your way to school and pick me up later."

"Bri, I haven't been able to read what you've been thinking for the past few days, I don't think you're emotionally ready to be all by yourself at that apartment"

"Can you take me or not?" Brianna asked blankly slightly irate.

"Sure." Chloe agreed on the spot and the two left promptly.

When they got to Brianna's apartment, Chloe parked the car, switched off the engine and took her seatbelt off.

"What are you doing?" Brianna asked her.

"I'm going in with you." she told her.

"Chloe, it's okay, you don't have to, I mean, you have to get to school. I'll be fine, I promise." Brianna assured her.

"Bri, listen to me. We're in this together, okay. Jason meant everything to me too." Chloe touched her hand.

"I know." Brianna started crying, "I just, don't want to stop you from doing what you want to do today or tomorrow or whenever."

"Bri, the only reason I got up this morning to go to school was because I was trying to be a little normal for today. I wanted to get to school, to distract myself for a while. The past weeks has also been hard on me." Chloe too started tearing up, "I'm really trying to be strong for the both of us and I'm just so scared of losing you too."

"You not going to lose me, Chloe."

"Then let me just go up there with you."

"Okay" Brianna wiped off her tears.

When they got to the door, Brianna had to composed herself before she put the key on the lock and turned it.

Chloe stood by her throughout the entire time, giving her, her full support before she walked into the apartment and shut the door.

Everything inside the apartment had been left the same way as the night of dismay, the throw Jason used to cover Brianna was still resting on the couch, the laptop she used for her assignment was still on the dining table with some of her college textbooks.

The kitchen sink had one used coffee mug still left inside and when Brianna saw it, she picked it and smiled when she knew that it had been Jason, who had used it and kept close to her throughout the rest of her stride round the apartment.

"I need to clean this place up, it's so dusty. I need to keep my mind busy."

"Okay, I'll help." Chloe offered.

"No Chloe. Please just let me take care of things around here for a while." Chloe paused looking at her confused.

"Bri, I said–"

"I know what you said, but I need to do this on my own. I shared this space with Jason on my own and I'd like to just, at least pretend that I'm tidying the place just for him." Brianna said holding her tears back.

"Okay, I'll give you all the space and time you need. I'll go to school, but I'll be right back here when I'm done."

"I'll leave the door unlocked for you."

"Stay strong" Chloe gave her a warm hug.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything." Brianna said in her ear.

"I'll see ya' later, missy." Chloe smiled at her, then left Brianna alone.

Once the door was shut, Brianna opened all the curtains and windows to let some dust out and some fresh air in, she walked straight to the kitchen, got some cleaning materials and started cleaning the apartment.

She started from the lounge, worked her way to the kitchen, to the main bedroom and lastly to the bathroom.

She washed all the clothes in the wash basket, cleaned all the windows, and watered what was left of her flower pot. When everything was done, she decided to go and take a hot bath in the tub.

She shut the bathroom door, turned the water on and allowed the bath to fill up with warm water, which steamed up the entire bathroom. She walked to stare at her face in the mirror to reflex.

" _Look at me"_ she said staring at her pale weary face in the mirror, that looked unlike her, where dry skin presented itself, dark circles under her eyes and dry and close to peeling lips. _"Who am I trying to kid? I'm falling apart without you Jason. Even if I stay here, your never coming home again, are you?"_ She wiped tears of her face with one handand inhaled deeply, before opening the one door, white mirrored wall cabinet to get some face wash.

As she reached for the face wash, she caught site of a box of Panadol, which was kept around the house as immediate relief from any sort of mild pain and fever that could've possibly arise.

She remained staring at the box of Panadol for a while longer, before finally deciding to take it. She opened it, counted all the pills inside the box.

" _32"_ she confirmed it to herself.

She shut the cabinet and popped as many as 25 pills into her mouth, washed down with some water from the basin tap.

Once the bathtub was filled high enough, she then got into the warm water and sunk herself in, seeming as though she was baptizing herself in the process.

When she surfaced, she rested her back at the end of the tub for a while and soon began to feel the effects of the drug dosage. She felt her body weaken and she began to drift in a blackout zone.

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

Meanwhile, Chloe was on her way up to the apartment after she was done at school. As she was about to open the front door, she ran across into the next door neighbour.

"Hi, are you our new neighbour?" A middle aged, greyish woman asked Chloe as she was exiting her apartment.

"Hi." Chloe smiled at the woman "I'm not your new neighbour, I'm Brianna's sister-in-law, slash best friend."

"Oh. How is she, I haven't seen her nor Jason for a while?"

"She's okay, but Jason is no longer with us." Chloe pressed her lips.

"My deepest condolences to you and your family." Said the woman.

"Thank you." Chloe said.

"I'll get her some flowers."

"She'll like that, I have to walk in now. Nice talking to you." Chloe said.

"Take care of her, and yourself."

"Will do, thanks." Chloe ended the conversation then entered the apartment.

"Brianna." she called out, after shutting door. "Wow, this place looks clean." Chloe said moving out to the bedroom to find her. She opened the bedroom door and didn't see Brianna, so she knocked on the bathroom to see if she would answer, seeing that it would be the only place left to look.

"Brianna, can I come in?" and there was no answer, "Bri, please cover yourself, coz I'm coming in." Chloe let herself into the bathroom gently and after taking a few steps she screamed in horror when she saw Brianna unresponsively and unconsciously laying on her side in the tub with water right up to her nose.

Chloe panicked but found inner strength to pull Brianna out of the tub and onto her lap on the floor where she kept on tapping her face to try and wake her up.

"HELP, SOMEONE PLEASE." she screamed out a couple of times and soon the middle aged woman appeared to her.

"Oh my goodness, what happened?"

"I found her in the tub, lying there like–" Chloe started sobbing.

"It's okay." the woman placed two fingers just below Brianna's jaw to check for a pulse, "Her hearts still beating, but it very slow, I'll call 911, stay calm."

"I can't lose her too. I can't lose her too." Chloe kept saying.

Within eight minutes the paramedics walked into the apartment and took Brianna's body, who was followed by Chloe, into the ambulance and to the Emergency Room.

At the hospital Chloe was told to wait in the dreaded waiting area where she decided to call Paige and Mike to alert them of what was happening.

"How is she doctor?" Paige asked once the doctor walked in their direction.

"She'll live, despite the amount of Panadol's she took in a single dose." the doctor said.

"Thank God." Paige said looking up to the ceiling, giving thanks to the all mighty.

"Can we see her?" Chloe asked.

"Sure you can, but she's still unconscious." the doctor said.

"Thanks for everything doc." Mike thanked the doctor him.

"Sure, and I hope you all take what happened today as a warning or maybe a sign to be more vigilant of her. Patients like her always tend to find another way to finish what they've started." the doctor advised them.

"We'll keep an eye on her." Paige said.

"Alright, she's right down the hall." the doctor showed them the way and they went straight to see Brianna, who was lying in the hospital bed wearing a hospital gown and had IV drips put on her.

All three present stood around her bed and looked at her, searching for some form of living being movement.

Paige placed a hand on Brianna's temple and began to pray for her, while Mike and Chloe both held her hands on either said and closed their eyes in prayer too.

The next morning Brianna struggled to open her eyes, but once they were wide open, she managed to move them around the room to try and identify where she was.

She soon established that she was at the hospital when she saw the bed she was lying in and saw Chloe sleeping by her feet on a chair with her arms folded in front of her, using them as head support.

She also saw Paige sleeping closeby neare the outside window, on an arm chair with an open bible on her lap.

Brianna managed to lift her body up from the bed very slowly and then reached down to touch Chloe's arm to wake her up.

"Bri, you're awake." Chloe said pleasantly surprised, "Lie back down, your weak." Chloe gently moved her back.

"Sweet heart, thank the Lord you awake." Paige said getting up from her armchair to caress her daughter's face.

"I'm so sorry." Brianna said teary, "I wasn't thinking straight when I took all those pills. I'm so sorry mama. I'm so sorry Chloe." she apologised to both of them.

"Oh sweetheart, you don't have to apologise to any of us. What you need to do now is accept and make peace with what's happened to Jason, like the rest of are trying to. Brianna, we all loved him, but you need to try and face each day without him from now on. Taking your own life is not going to solve anything; it's just going to cause more pain to those you love you. Jason was taken away from you the same way your father was taken away from me. Life is short and we will all die someday, but we need to let God decide on that himself." Paige stood holding her hand.

"But why did he decide to take Jason, if he knew that he met everything to me?" Brianna said.

"God's ways are not our ways. I've told you that once when you've have asked me about how I felt when your father died. Find your strength in him." Paige replied.

"Mama, I'm so angry at God right now, I could burn that bible." Brianna cried.

"You don't mean that." Paige said.

"I do, I really do." Brianna felt infuriated.

"Bri, look at me." Chloe said and she turned to look at her, "I'm here for you and I will always be here for you for as long as you need me to. I love you, just as much as I loved Jason." Chloe said shedding tears of despair, "Please just promise me you'll live, no matter what. Promise me you'll never leave me."

"Chloe I..."

"Please Bri, I need. We both can get through this, together." Chloe lifted Brianna's hand and placed on her chest, close to her heart and Brianna mirrored her moments later to indicate to her that she would be willing to accept Chloe's help and stick by her for support.

After spending four weeks in the hospital's psychiatric ward to manage her depression, Brianna was discharged from the hospital and went back home.

She went back to Chloe's apartment and was reunited with Violet, who brought a grin upon to her face for the first time in days.

To help each other get through their grief, the two found relief in attending sessions together at a professional psychologist recommended to them by Kathy.

Brianna and Violet moved into Chloe's apartment permanantly, two weeks after Brianna went through her own apartment and took with her everything that was precious to her and everything that would still remind her or at least give her comfort when she was reminded of Jason.

She kept some of his T-shirts with her, so she could to wear to go to sleep, she also kept his cologne to spray and keep his smell, on one of the big teddies she got on Valentine's Day from him and used it for snuggling purposes.

She also keep his hairbrush and the rest of the items, such as the furniture left at the apartment, she decided to sell and give some of the cash to Chloe to help towards contributing somethings to the rent, the leftovers cash, she paid some of her student loan.

Taking each day at a time wasn't easy, but she slowly managed to pick herself up and started looking after her health, starting by eating again and taking Violet for a walk twice a day.

Going back to college was the only thing Brianna didn't want to think off after she got a call from the staff asking if she'd be returning to classes anytime soon.

"Bri, you need to go back to doing what you've planned for, and started." Chloe told her while the two had a cup of tea in the kitchen.

"I can't go back, I haven't been going to class for almost a full semester." Brianna told her.

"But you can go and do a new semester and then finish off on the one you left off, right?" Chloe said.

"Yeah, but my head's not in the right place at the moment."

"Going back to classes will do you good. Think of it as a challenge, remember what the doctor said, the busier you mind is, the easier it becomes." Chloe said to her and she thought about for a second.

"You probably right, but first I need to get a job." Brianna said moving on to answer her cellphone when she heard it ringing from the bedroom.

"Brianna speaking, Hello." She answered when she didn't recognise the number.

"Good Day, am I speaking to a Mrs. Millers?" a call agent asked on the other side of the phone.

"Yes." she responded.

"Hi Mrs. Millers, My name is Robert and I am calling you from the benefits management division's department from the city of Chicago." said the agent.

"Yes."

"Ma'am, first of all I'd just like to offer my condolences to you and your family for your lose."

"Um, thank you, but what is this call about?" she asked gently.

"We've received a notification from the company your husband was working a few weeks ago to inform us of his passing."

"Uh-huh" she listened on.

"Basically we've been waiting for you to give us a call so we could perhaps discuss the life insurance that needs to be paid out to you as the main beneficiary."

"I Um—"Brianna sounded muddled up in thoughts when Chloe walked into the bedroom to find out who she was talking to.

"Is this a good time to talk to you Mrs. Millers?" the agent asked.

"Hand it to me." Chloe whispered gently, gesturing to Brianna to hand her the cellphone when she looked like she was having a slight anxiety attack, then she handed her the phone and sat on the bed.

"Chloe speaking, who is this?" Chloe asked and the agent explained to her who he was. "Listen, my sister in law isn't really okay to take this call, but can I please give my father's number to call, since he handled everything regarding my brother's passing?"

"Sure." the agent said and Chloe gave him Mike's number to call then hung up.

"You okay?" Chloe asked concerned, taking a sit next to Brianna on the bed.

"I'll be alright." Brianna told her and doing some breathing exercises.

"A call like that, just brings everything back up, doesn't it?" Chloe said and Brianna nodded and sighed with her head looking down on the floor, "Come here." she comforted her.

"You're so strong hearted." Brianna told her.

"One of us has to be." Chloe said caressing her hair with a slight grin.

Brianna suddenly began to feel nauseas and ran out the room to get to the toilet pot.

She began throwing up all the food she had that morning and Chloe helped moving her hair out of her face.

"You okay?" Chloe asked concerned.

"No." Brianna shifted from the toilet pot after flashing her puke away and sat on the bathtub touching her back and groin in agonising pain.

"I'll get you a painkiller." Chloe said.

"No! Just get me to the emergency room." Brianna said.

"Okay. Stay here I'll get your bag and mine, and then we'll go." Chloe told her and soon they got to the nearest hospital.

Chloe filled out the papers for Brianna at the reception, right after Brianna was taken in to be examined by a physician on duty.

"Out of one to ten, how bad is the pain you feeling right now?"

"An eight, um."

"Are you taking any sort of drugs that we should know about?"

"I take a light sleeping pills to go to sleep."

"What pill is it?"

"Ramelteon."

"Okay, I'm going to give you something for the pain and we going to run a urine and blood test. Just to see what's going on" said the physician, who wore a maroon hospital overall, who looked to be in his late thirties with a few light grey hairs showing through his light copper hair.

Moments later, Chloe was by Brianna side, holding her hand while they both waited nervously for the test results.

When the doctor came back, he drew the curtains with made both Brianna and Chloe jump in fright.

"I have your results and they all seem to be in the clear" he said and the two breathed easy. "We don't really know why you suddenly got that sort of pain. But seeing as it's coming from below your abdomen, I'll have to send you through to the ultrasound for further examining, just so we sure about everything, okay."

"Okay, thank you Doctor."

 _...At the Ultrasound Unit..._

"There's the problem. Right there, can you see it?" said the forty some years old female radiologist pointing on the monitor, to Brianna and Chloe.

"What is that?" Brianna asked.

"It's a cyst, on your right ovary." she responded.

"It that what's caused the pain?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, they can sometimes be dominant and suddenly come to life and cause commotion inside our bodies. The one you have seems to be blocking you fallopian tubes." she informed Brianna.

"So, now, what needs to be done?" Brianna asked.

"In your case, a gynaecology specialist will need to remove the entire ovary, then it will be tested for any abnormal cells, after that, you shouldn't feel any pain" she told her.

"How soon do I have to have it done?"

"As soon as possible, if you don't want that sort of pain to reoccur again. I'll give a full medical report for you to take to you gynaecologist."

Brianna left the hospital with Chloe, without saying much.

Chloe felt that her best friend needed a few moments of silence and she gave her the time on their way back to the apartment.

Brianna made dinner for all three of them at the apartment, she sat at the table consuming her food in awkward silence.

After she washed the dishes, Brianna said goodnight to everyone and went to the bedroom, she and Chloe shared, Violet followed her to the bedroom and the two laid in bed together.

Chloe appeared moments later, got ready for bed and climbed in to join them.

"Bri."

"Yes."

"Talk to me." Chloe asked and Brianna began to cry, "Sorry, oh no, you don't have to say anything, really you don't." she felt guilty, and touched her shoulder while she laid with her side turned towards her.

"I thought the outcome of today's events were going to be different." Brianna sniffed and brushed her nose.

Chloe reached for her box of tissues and handed her one.

"What where you hoping for?" Chloe asked and Brianna turned to face her on the bed.

"I thought–I thought I'd be pregnant, with Jason's baby. I thought today was going to be a good day."

"Bri, I'm so sorry. I wish I could take away your pain and suffering." Chloe said sincerely, shedding a tear or two, "Just know that I am here for you for as long as you need me, okay." she said and embraced her.

"I know." Brianna felt sound and found comfort in Chloe's words.

Months after Jason's passing, Brianna received a substantial amount of money from his life insurance and used it to go back to college, with the remaining amount, she also helped pay off some accumulated hospital bills for the time Jason spent in hospital.

She found a new job, working as waitress from 6am to 12pm at a place called _Tea Brewing Café_ on Michigan Avenue in Chicago central that specialised in providing their customers with a range of worldwide teas, and the best there was in breakfast and sandwiches.

To mend and mentain a healthy state of mind and body, Brianna started taking time to meditate in her own space, by praying and writing down her thoughts, to help her cope with her everyday life and it seemed to work, when she slowly began to find her inner peace and self once again.

Tye and she, soon began to restore their sibling relationship, after he, Paige and Brianna took time off and attended family therapy, where a few good and bad things were said, as well as Jason's last words were told and quoted to Brianna, 'to move on.'

Brianna's bond towards LeBron grew much stronger as she too spend more time with him.

Nine months later, Tye and Lucinda welcomed another boy into the world, which they named Jason Jr, in remembrance of him.

Brianna and Chloe took it upon themselves to be the best caring aunts to their two little nephews and every Christmas they'd make sure that they got, whatever it was that had asked of Santa.

Everything went back to the way it used to be, before Jason's passing, after each person took the time to heal.

The family continued to gather around Paige's dining table during Thanks Giving and Christmas for dinner, forever honouring Jason, by keeping a picture of him on top of the fire place in the dining area were they all held hands and prayed.

 _...Ending Abstract..._

 **I** n life, we as humans beings, are never born taking steps.

We must first learn to crawl before we then learn to stand up and balance ourselves onto our own two feet.

As the months progress, we learn to walk and evenly start running, as the year's progress with us.

Life is uncertain.

It doesn't come with an instruction manual, but we still need to make the best of it.

Live for the present, plan for the future, but remembering that the future should only be based on tomorrow, and not the rest of your life, which will forever remain nebulous.

End of Book 1


End file.
